


what’s up with him?

by fxrefliess



Category: Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: <3, F/M, I love liz, Liz Toomes - Freeform, POV Change, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, and I wrote it over three years ago, but I’m finally reposting it here, im sorry in advance, liz allan - Freeform, liz gets the screen time she deserves, reviews and comments are appreciated, so if it’s not the best, that’s why, this is basically just homecoming but from liz’s pov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 14:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fxrefliess/pseuds/fxrefliess
Summary: liz allan doesn't know about peter parker’s biggest secret. she also does not know that her father is a criminal selling illegal weapons made from alien technology. she just thinks that there is something up with pete and her dad goes to work every morning for money. admit it, you've seen 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' a few times, but have you seen it from liz’s point of view?
Relationships: Liz Allan/Peter Parker
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi loves <3 I wrote this over three years ago and posted it on ffnet when hoco first came out. just now am I getting the idea to cross post it. SO I have not went through all the chapters to clean it up; I apologize for any little spelling errors.
> 
> not discouraging anyone from reading !! just take note I have tweaked my writing style a lot back when I wrote this.
> 
> anyway, it’s basically hoco from liz’s pov — hope y’all enjoy !!

Becoming an Avenger. Now, you'd normally think that would be one of the hardest things to do, right? Like ever. Well, for Peter Parker, the Avengers came to him. He was surprised that Iron Man even knew who he was, where he was. Peter came home from high school and found Tony Stark sitting on the couch, with his Aunt May. And then he was recruited to fight. Not just a normal hand to hand combat fight. No, Peter Parker was recruited to fight other Avengers.

And well, you might be thinking, A normal kid in high school, thrown in with Avengers? Peter was a normal kid, apart from his smarts and shyness, he was pretty normal. Brown hair and chocolatey eyes. It was Spider-Man who was special; it was Spider-Man who got Peter recruited to fight with the Avengers. Spider-Man, the funny, friendly, blue and red spandex wearing spider-like person. And they are the same people, its just that Peter likes to keep his web-slinging identity on the low.

No one else knows that he is a crime fighting teenager in Queens, New York. No one except Tony Stark, the multimillion billionaire. But how Tony found out it was Parker, he doesn't know. Either way, Peter couldn't thank Stark enough; he got an upgraded suit and some new, high-tech gadgets - like this light connected to his web-shooters that shows a red and blue, moving picture of Spider-Man's head.

And, trust me, he's been on a heck of a ride so he deserves them. Especially since none of the other Avengers thought that a 15 year old kid could fight just like them - maybe even a bit better. And Parker proved them all wrong. Except Tony; he was the one that recruited Peter because he was the one that had faith in him.

And now, Spider-Man has a new challenge to face: his Aunt.

After his parents left him and his Uncle Ben died, and his best friend, Ned, found out about his secret identity, and he followed a group of people who made weapons out of alien junk, which led to taking the Vulture out, and much more, Peter Parker never expected this to happen. Now, Aunt May didn't know that the boy she has been raising alone for a while was Spider-Man; Stark said that her nephew was on a internship, not being recruited to fight with his web-slinging abilities.

Peter would always make lies up because if Aunt May ever did find out, she'd flip like a pancake. And that is exactly what happened.

But that isn't what this story is about. This story is about Liz Allan. Liz, the wonderful, soft-spoken girl who Peter adores. Liz, with her smooth, chocolate skin and her beautiful, flowing hair.

Now, Liz was an only child. She was a senior at Midtown Science High School and head of the academic decathlon team, but of course, she was popular. So, with this said, Peter just floated in her background. It was clear that the decathlon team was a big part of her life, but she also helped around the school. And, in the part of her life that we are reading about now, was when she was helping set-up for homecoming.

Peter and Ned would just stare at Liz as she worked around the school. They stared, and stared, and Liz pretended not to notice. Because she thought it was cute. I mean, anyone who looked over at where the two boys where sitting could easily follow their eye line right to the senior. And it wasn't hard for Liz to tell that Peter had a huge crush on her.

Liz's mother stayed at home and her father went out to work everyday. What he did exactly, Liz didn't know. But she also didn't have an interest in it, either. The home she lived in was quiet beautiful. It was very large with lots of windows. But she was glad for it. Because she could be in her room studying, while her parents where in the other part of the home and there was peace and quiet.

"Have a good day at work, Dad," Liz said, picking up her backpack and throwing it around her back after finishing her breakfast.

She walked to the door when her father finally replied, placing the coffee he was sipping on the counter. "Thanks, Gumdrop. Learn lots."

"Mom," Liz called as her mother walked down the stairs, greeting her daughter in a hug. "Love you."

Her mother placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, too."

Liz squirmed out of the hug and opened the door. "Bye," she called one last time. She then stepped onto the porch and headed to the bus stop.

The sky was a baby blue; it was still early. The dew on the grass was drying up a bit. Liz didn't live far away from the school, but the bus passed her home and her parents insisted she rode it becasuse she was still working on her driver's license. When she finally reached the stop, the bus was just pulling up. She pushed her slightly curled black hair behind her ears and hopped on as the doors opened.

"Good morning," she said to the bus driver and he nodded his head in reply.

Liz continued to walk down the bus isle until she found her friend, Betty who was sitting alone. Liz flattened out her white sweater and her gray skirt and sat down. She left her backpack to squeeze against the back of the seat. Betty was a kind girl with blonde, straight hair. She moved over so Liz had enough space to sit down.

"Hey, there, Elizabeth," Betty smiled. "Nice skirt."

Liz sighed. "I told you about calling me Elizabeth," she responded. "And thanks."

Betty giggled softly. "I know that, silly. But it's funny."

"Okay, Betty."

The bus stopped. The ride was short, but it beats walking. Liz and Betty stood up and as the students in the seats up front drifted out, they followed. Both girls steps down and started to walk inside Midtown Science High School. Liz noticed Flash Thompson drive his shiny, silver car and pull into a parking spot. But of course after yelling out to Peter - "Sup, Penis Parker!" Liz had realized that Flash isn't a fan of Parker, but, well, he was a fan of her.

"Have you heard that the Avengers are moving?" Betty asked. But she was second though.

Liz still had her head turned, watching Peter freeze for a moment before walking inside the school. He was only a few pastes in front of the two girls, but Flash didn't have the right to talk to him like that.

"Hey..." Betty drifted off.

"Oh, yeah. Cool," Liz replied as they entered the school.

"Wait. Are you crushing on Peter?" Betty asked; Liz shook her head. "Well, I don't think that Flash is exactly your type, either."

"My type?" Liz repeated. "No, I'm not crushing on anyone." The pair stopped walking and Liz started to open her plain, sliver locker. "I'll see you at lunch?"

Betty nodded. "Yep, see ya then," she replied and walked off to her own locker.

Liz hung her backpack up on a lock and brought out her science text book. Science was first period and then language arts, so she grabbed that book as well, pulling her arms around her torso with her books locked in the middle. She did get some periods off to help for the Homecoming, but the first two weren't one.

The words that Betty said bubbled around in Liz's head as she closed her locker and headed off to science. Crushing...on Peter? Peter Parker? No, she was just wondering about what Flash said. Flash was bulling Parker? Peter was the smartest kid she knew; she was glad he was on the academic decathlon team. But Flash was on it, too, so why would he be making fun of Peter?

"Get that out of your head," Liz muttered to herself, she continued to walk down the hallway, her chin up.

"'Morning, Liz," Principal Morita said. He wore his black and white suit with this black hair gelled up, like always. "How's Homecoming coming along?"

"Hello, Principal Morita," Liz responded. "Good morning to you as well, and quiet nicely."

"Amazing. Have fun in class."

Liz nodded, as the first bell rang. On her way to science, she passed Peter's locker where him and Ned - his best friend - were talking. Of course it was something nerdy or else the girls next to the pair wouldn't have shunned away. For a second, Liz wanted to go and ask Peter what was up with him and Flash, but she thought it was a horrible thing to do. Clearly, him and Ned were deep in conversation all ready. Instead, she closed her eyes for a second and took in a deep breath. Then she stopped walking. It wasn't that she wanted to, but she had crashed into someone. Liz opened her eyes and saw Flash in front of her with his hands on her shoulders and a smirk on his face.

"Hey, Liz," he said.

Liz shrugged her shoulders, making Flash's hands fall back to his side. "Why'd you yell at Peter this morning?"

Flash brought his hands up by his neck, so they were holding on to the top of his backpack straps. "What?" he asked. "Oh, that's just a nickname a have for him. Don't worry, Liz, he loves it."

"It didn't look like he loved it."

"Remind me again why it matters?"

"Because he's probably the smartest person I know," Liz replied. She pushed past Flash and walked into the next door on the left - science.

She was just able to hear Flash mumble, "Well then you clearly haven't met-" but she closed the door behind her and his words were cut off.

Liz Allan took her seat in the front row away from the door. She placed her books down and looked out the window for the second bell rang. The buildings of Queens were sparkling as the sun glistened off of them. Liz looked back to her desk and pulled out her science book, flipping to the page on the board as Ms. Warren - an African-American woman with short hair and a purple dress - stood up from her desk and walked in front of it, leaning on the edge.

She faces the students with a smile. "Good morning, class," she announced. "Ready to start the day?"


	2. Chapter 2

Science was boring. Language arts was boring. Liz felt eager to finally help with Homecoming things when third period rolled around. Normally, she loved class. But today was different. Liz showed the teacher a note to excuse herself from the period and headed to the guidance office where she grabbed some supplies to deck the hallways. She posted up small signs around the school, informing students to buy tickets. Then she headed to the library to paint another poster and stayed standing up at a long table with chairs near the fiction books. There was a class in there, no one she really knew, though.

But that was when Flash walked in. "Liz," he whispered.

He took a seat across from where Liz was. She didn't look up, but rolled her eyes, already expecting drama. "Why are you whispering?" she asked.

"Well, duh," Flash responded, "it's a library. What am I supposed to do? Yell?" His voice slowly got louder and at the end of his few sentences, he was almost shouting.

The librarian kept her head in the book she was reading, but wearily put her pointer figure up to her lips - a motion for Flash to shut it. Liz and Flash looked over at the older teacher, then looked back at each other.

"Why are you here, Flash?" Liz asked, dipping the paint brush in pink and slowly stroking the pager in a swaying motion. She was writing out Homecoming! It's almost home! Are you ready? on the blue poster.

"I wanna study with you."

"I'm working. And shouldn't you be in chem?"

Flash crossed his arms across his chest and leaned the chair back, so it was only on two legs. "Maybe, who's to say? Shouldn't you be in math?"

"I have a reason to be here, though," Liz responded.

"So do I; I have a hall pass." He held up the plastic square with a string and the words Hall Pass written on it in white.

Liz looked up at Flash with her arms out, hands leaning on the table after dropping the brush in the can. "Not a library pass."

"I don't like the color pink," Flash said. He stood up, taking the brush in his

hand and splattering it across the poster then walked away.

Liz didn't know what to say as she backed up, trying not to get painted, so she simply just stared at the now splattered long strip of blue paper. Flash had dropped the paint brush back in the can, but why was he being such a jerk? She didn't want to get angry or overwhelmed, so she just opened a can of white paint and got a new brush. Liz then walked up and individually painted each splatter to look like a small star, making the poster now colorful with small, simple stars of white. It added more color when it was mixed with the slight pink of the splatter. While she lifted her arm to finish the last star, the librarian stood up.

"There better not be any paint on the tables, chairs, or books, dear," she said, walking over to see Liz's work.

"Oh, there isn't," Liz replied, adding the fifth point and then placing the brush in the can.

"Not a fan of Flash Thompson, are you?"

"Not really, but he's on the decathlon team."

The librarian nodded. "Well, nice job cleaning up his mistake."

"Thanks," Liz replied.

She finished the poster, and let it dry as she cleaned the brushes, closed and put the cans back, and went to lunch. There, Liz bought a tray of food and headed to a table with her friends. She ate fairly quickly so that she could hang up the newly-dried poster with the help of Betty keeping it steady. Principal Morita said that it should go on the longest wall, right in the middle - which was in front of a clock. Liz didn't object; she brought out a ladder and hung it up.

Justin, a tall student with orange hair, walked by holding a tray of food. "Cool poster, Liz," he complemented nodded his head in approval.

Liz smiled and replied with a thank you as someone else yelled out her name. Her head turned and she answered with a hey and waved. She then hopped off the ladder and swept her hands down her sweater again, flattening it out.

"How's it look?" she asked Betty Brant who was now standing next to her in the cafeteria as they stood in the center of the poster, looking up at it.

"Great," Betty replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I like the stars. Principal Morita's idea?"

Liz faced her friend. "Flash's."

Betty brought her hand to her mouth and added a small gasp as she faced Liz. "He actually had a good idea, for once?" she joked.

"Surprising, right?" Liz turned around, looking at the other kids eating lunch. She noticed Peter and Ned immediately, sitting at their casual table. They just started to have a conversation with Michelle who stopped reading her book to respond - a quiet girl that claims she has no friends with skin like Liz and black hair that was messily put back in a loose ponytail.

After lunch was academic decathlon practice. Liz headed to the half-auditorium-half-cafeteria part of the school. She brought out her lucky podium and placed it in the center of the room, right in front of the stage, where the other members were being quiz - all except Flash, Peter, Michelle, Sally, and Mr. Harrington. There were chairs stacked up throughout the room and tables scattered. On the stage was two long tables where Abraham, Cindy, Ned, and Ethan were sitting with bells and books as Liz asked them questions.

Liz picked up a card that was on the podium and faced her fellow students being tested for practice. "Let's move to the next question," Liz started. She then read from the card: "What is the heaviest naturally occurring element?"

Ethan's - a nerdy looking kid with glasses and brown hair - hand smashed on the silver bell as it let out a high-pitched ding! "Hydro's the lightest," he answered quickly. Almost too quickly that Liz wouldn't have understood him. "That's not the question," he then said.

Abraham - a dark skinned boy with crew cut hair in a suit and tie - rang the bell next as Cindy - a Asian girl with long black hair - scrambled to look through her books for the right answer. "Uranium!" Abraham responded with confidence.

"That is correct," Liz responded as Abraham did a fist pump in the air. "Thank you, Abraham. Please open your books now to page ten."

The classmates on the stages picked up their books and started to flip through the pages. Liz was starting to feel good about this team. Maybe they could win. She brought out other papers from underneath on the podium and turned to Mr. Harrington - the teacher who runs academic decathlon with a black beard. She started to listen to the conversation he was having with Peter when Flash suddenly spoke up.

He was sitting behind Liz in a chair, feet leaning on another chair, as he read through a book. "You've never even been in the same room as Tony Stark!" he shouted.

"Wait?" Cindy started. "What's happening?"

"Peter's not going to Washington," Sally responded from the floor, drawing. She was slightly overweight, but nonetheless an amazing student.

Betrayal was the first thing Liz felt. She didn't know why she felt that, but it felt right to her. Peter was bailing on them - at the moment they needed him the most! This was because the whole decathlon would take a bus up to Washington to use their smarts, trying to beat the best. Yeah, they would get an awesome trophy and an amazing title if they won, but could they do it being down a brain? Especially if that brain was Peter's?

All because of Tony Stark? Over the year, Liz has picked up that - supposedly - Parker is interviewing for Tony Stark. Yes, you read that right - Iron Man. And Liz constantly thinks - not that she constantly thinks about Peter - why Stark would choice Parker for this; how did he get to be a intern? But she, just like all the other students, thought it was incredibly cool and let Peter alone about it.

"No, no, no, no," Cindy slurred.

Abraham rang the bell again and put his hands up. "Why not?" he asked.

"Really?" Liz put as much innocence as possible as she asked, looking at Peter. "Right before nationals?"

Michelle was leaning against the wall near the stage, reading a book when she finally spoke up. "He already quiet marching band and robotic lab," she concluded.

Stalker, much? Liz thought. And clearly so was everyone else because all of their heads turned to look at the quiet girl.

"I'm not obsessed with him; I'm just very observant," Michelle said, tying to fix her mistake.

Liz turned around and looked at Flash. "Flash," she started, "you're in for Peter."

"Oof. I don't know," Flash responded, not even looking up from the book. "I've got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."

Abraham rung the bell for the third time. "That is false," he said, crossing his arms across his chest smirking.

"What'd I tell you 'bout using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr. Harrington said with no emotion whatsoever.

This time everyone was smirking and on the brick of laughing except for Peter. Liz remembered the time when Abraham did something similar to what he did now, making everyone laugh but Mr. Harrington. That was why there was now a new rule about not using the bell for comedic purposes. Anyways, Liz finished off the rest of the period with small quizzes. But the whole time, she couldn't but help feel bad. Bad for Peter, bad for herself.

He is letting everyone else down; clearly he feels sorry about it, right? Liz thought, before washing it those thoughts away as the bell rang. She had to get to the next class. But as she finished the reset of her day, her thoughts drifted back to Peter Parker bailing on the academic decathlon team. He was a smart kid, really smart. And Liz didn't want to admit it, but she felt crushed about not spending study time with Peter on the Washington trip. She enjoyed his company.

So when Liz finally reached home, she hung her backpack up on the hook by the door and walked into the kitchen were her mother was on the phone. Liz's facial emotion was sad, even a blind person could tell. She wanted to talk about it; she thought it would make herself feel better. And who better than her mom - she was always on Liz's side.

"Mom?" Liz quietly asked.

"Dear, just a second, I'm on the-" her mother started, but then she covered her mouth with her hand and whispered into the phone until she hung it up. "Liz, baby, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing - I'm fine."

"Gumdrop - is that what your father calls you? You seem to like that name - you are clearly not fine." Liz's mother reached her arms out and pulled her daughter into a hug.

Liz excepted the hug and wiped her damp face. "We might not win nationals."

"And why is that?" Mrs. Allan straightened out her arms and held her hands on top of Liz's shoulders.

"The smartest kid can't go because of some Tony Stark interview-internship thing."

Mrs. Allan picked up the phone again. "Tell me this kid's number."

Liz let out a small giggle. "No, Mom, you can't call him."

"Oh, so it's a him?" Liz laughed again. "Then let me call Thorny Shark."

This time Liz had to cover her mouth from laughing too hard. "Tony. Stark," she corrected, this time smiling. "Mom, Tony Stark not Thorny Shark."

"Ah, there," Liz's mother said. "I like this side of you better. Smiling." She placed the phone back down and started to lean on the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Now, I know this means so much to you, baby, but you can't give up just because some moron gave up on you."

"T-thanks, Mom."

Mrs. Allan spun around, now facing a Keurig. "Anytime, dear," she replied. "Want a drink? Tea? Hot chocolate? Coffee? - no not coffee. Liz, don't start drinking coffee, you will never stop."

Liz laughed again, walking around the island so she was standing next to her mother. "Um, tea is fine."

"Comin' right up," Mrs. Allan said. "Have any homework today, baby?"

Liz let out a small sigh. "Just a bit, yeah."

"Well," Liz's mother started, placing the tea cup in the Keurig machine, "say I'll bring you your tea and you can finish your homework in your room. Then after your father returns from work, we can watch a movie?"

"Sounds perfect," Liz replied, picking up her backpack again. "Thanks, Mom."

"No problem, Liz."

Liz headed upstairs to her room and laid out her books on her bed. She thought for a moment whether she was worried about losing nationals or because Peter wasn't going on the trip. Nationals has always been a huge part of her life; it's always meant a lot to her. She has read couching books and tried to open her vocabulary to do better when practicing so everyone on the team can learn more.

But why exactly was she crying?

No, she thought, not over Peter. To her, he was just a loser. He was just the person who bailed on everything - academic decathlon, marching band, robotics lab, and who knows what else? Liz was going to thrive now that Parker was out of the picture. Flash wasn't going to be as rude. Ned wouldn't be as distracted. Maybe the team was better off without Peter?

Knock, knock, knock!

"C'mon, in," Liz said to her mother behind the wooden slab of a door.

Mrs. Allan opened the door and placed a mug of tea on Liz's desk. "I'll pick a good movie this time, promise!" she said, closing the door on her way out.

Liz hopped off her bed and grabbed the tea, taking a small sip. She let it wash in her mouth for a second before swallowing it. Then she placed it on a nightstand next to her bed and looked down at her books. Liz took a small breath, then got to work.


	3. Chapter 3

The day's homework was stressful. With Finding X, Liz was so temped to just circle x in the question and diagram, then write something cheesy like There it is! But the stressful homework helped with perfect timing because once Liz jumped off the last stair, her father walked in the front door from finishing work with dust and muck on his clothes and shoes. And he too looked at bit stressed out.

"Hey, Gumdrop," he said surprisingly calm.

"Hello, Dad?" Liz replied, walking up to him. Why was he all dirty?

He took a few more steps inside the home. "Where's your-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Liz's mother complained, popping out of no-where and throwing her hands out, stopping Liz's father from walking more into the home. "Adrian, you look filthy!"

Mr. Toomes took his steps back, ending up at the door once more. "Sorry, babe, work was...tough."

Mrs. Allan put her hands on her hip, looking at her husband. "Go take a shower while I start dinner. Liz you can get the popcorn," she commanded. "We're watching a movie tonight. Big Hero 6."

"Big Hero 6?" Liz repeated, remembering the Disney film. "Mom, I saw that already with Betty."

"But your father and I didn't."

"But-" Liz started again.

Mr. Toomes cut in. "Gumdrop, was it really that bad that you can't watch it again?"

Liz let out a small sigh. "No," she replied. "but it's sad."

"Sweetheart, I can deal with sad," her mother said.

Liz didn't reply after that. Her mother could really deal with sad. She made Liz feel better easily that day about nationals - or was it actually about Peter? No, nationals. The name Thorny Shark ran through her mind again and Liz smiled. Her father went upstairs - slowly so that not a lot of dust would get all over the house - and Liz heard the water start to run. She and her mother went in the kitchen to get some food.

As her father came down the stairs from his shower with a towel in his hand, Liz was setting the table. They ate pizza that night and had smoothies for dessert. Liz's dad when back up the stairs to finish off some supposed work as Liz and her mother popped some corn after cleaning up dinner.

Eventually, after throwing lots of pre-buttered and salted popcorn, Liz and her mother were comfortably siting on the couch, waiting for Liz's father. Liz was all the way on the left side of the couch, and her mother was on the right. They were trying to share a blanket, so every few minutes, the other would pull the sheet to get most of the cozy flee. The TV was on but neither was listening to it; they just had to put it on demand for the movie.

Until they both turned their heads at the same time to the TV and froze. The channel on was the news. The volume was low; Mrs. Allan leaned over the arm rest and picked up the remote, adding numbers to the volume so they could hear. "This is only a few blocks away from your school, Liz," she said.

What was on the news was more heartbreaking then the plot of Big Hero 6. There was a bank robbery, first off, and the four robbers had special electrical weapons. No one, not the polices, not gun companies, could know how a weapon could actually do what those weapons did with their purple glow. The security camera saw that the robbers had Avenger masks and they were going to get away with it simply.

Until Spider-Man showed up. But he didn't fix the problem; actually, he made it quiet worse, causing a sandwich shop across the street blow-up. Liz could tell he was trying, though. He left the robbers and saved the sandwich shop owner and his cat. Liz covered her mouth; her mother just stared at the screen in aw.

"Girls, what's on TV?" Mr. Toomes asked from the stairs. "A spider guy?" he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"People tried to rob a bank, Spider-Boy appeared, and a shop got blown to flames," Liz's mother answered.

"Spider-Man," Liz fixed. "His name is Spider-Man."

Mr. Toomes walked around the couch and sat down in the middle of the two girls. "Change the channel," he commanded. "Just be glad no one was killed."

Mrs. Allan didn't object and put the on demand movie Big Hero 6 on. But although the movie was on, making the TV change, Liz's mind stayed glued to the bank robbery. Stayed glued to the Spider-Man. Liz has heard about this person who climbs walls and shoots webs may times before. She always thought that he - well, or she, but their name was Spider-Man - just ran around helping old ladies and people with cats in trees. But here he was, risking his life. Sure, he might do that on a regular basis when people don't see him, but nothing like this about Spider-Man was ever on the news.

"So why is this movie so sad?" Mrs. Allan asked, interrupting Liz's thoughts about the web-slinger.

Liz didn't want to spoil the film. "Um, feelings, siblings, and fire," she answered.

Her mother repeated the three answers Liz gave. "Ah, I see," she said. "Well, anyways, let's get comfy and start."

Mr. Toomes stood up and sat under the blankets with his daughter and wife. "Ah," he said, shifting in his seat while the first scene of the movie started. "Can't wait."

As the movie played, Liz still couldn't get Spider-Man out of her mind. She didn't know if it was out of jealous, because she wanted some awesome powers, or because she was developing a crush. Sure, she didn't even know who the person was, what they looked like, how they acted. But did that really matter? He was a good person deep inside - shouldn't that be enough? Well, he could possible be over 30 years old and covered in hair. Liz shuddered at that thought.

As the movie ended, Liz changed into her pajamas and jumped in bed after brushing her teeth and going to the bathroom. She closed her eyes and started to breath a bit slower, hoping to drift off into a dream. But instead her eyes popped open, and she opened the laptop on her desk.

In the Google search bar, Liz's typed Spider-Man. "This is so stupid," she huffed, but clicked enter.

A lot of YouTube videos came up about the time he stopped a bus with his bare hands, and about the bank robbery, and a few more things. There were photos of him climbing up walls. Liz added true identity to the search bar. A lot of web links came up with titles like Who is the web-slinger? and Man under the spider mask. Liz clicked on the first link and scrolled through it; there was no photo of the spider without his mask on, nor was the information good when Liz skimmed through the passage.

"What a waste," she muttered and shut off the computer.

Liz curled under the covers once more and rubbed her eyes. After a while, Liz fell asleep, her thoughts still clouded with Spider-Man.


	4. Chapter 4

Liz woke up and headed to school. All everyone was talking about was the robbery. The boring student news that was pre-recorded yesterday before school let out was playing. Betty was on it like normally, being very robotic-like. Liz wondered why she did that, considering she was so lively when both of them were together.

Liz walked down the hallways and a lot of people were hyped about coming in just to talk about Spider-Man. Ned seemed pretty interested in asked questions; every time Liz saw him, he's whisper into Peter's ear with a confused expression. But why was he asking Peter quietly? What did he know? Well, except for all the answers in academic decathlon - which he quit going to Washington.

During gym, Liz was chatting with a small group of her friends. Everyone else was walking around the gym, doing a fitness challenge. They have to do it after they watch a video just as boring as the news every morning of Captain America. Liz and her friends were playing a game as they chatted on the bleachers because they were conveniently all taking a small break together as the period was almost ending.

"And now for me," Betty started, pushing her blonde hair in the pony-tail back, "it would be f Thor, marry Iron Man, and kill Hulk."

"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" K.C. asked.

Betty shook her head, not getting it. "It's just Spider-Man."

"But have you guys seen that big security cam on YouTube, maybe the news?" Liz added. "He fought off four guys!"

"Oh my gosh," Betty said, leaning back like she just found out the most secretive thing ever, then leaned in to listen again. "She's crushing on Spider-Man."

"No way," K.C. said.

Liz threw her hands up and shrugged her shoulders. "Kind of," she gave in, remembering how she was yesterday, all curious about the web-slinger, even looking him up.

"Ah, gross," Betty murmured. "He's probably like 30."

"You don't even know what he looks like," K.C. said. "Like what if he's like seriously burned?"

"I wouldn't care what he looks like," Liz replied, looking up and then back to K.C on her left. "I'd still love him for the person he is on the inside." She touched her heart after she finished speaking.

Ned interrupted. He was a few yards in front of Liz holding Peter's feet down as he did sit-ups. "Peter knows Spider-Man!" he shouted.

At that moment, everyone froze and looked to Peter for a confirmation on knowing the hero.

Peter stumbled and stood up as Ned followed. "Ah, no I don't," he stuttered. "No...I...ah..."

Flash who was climbing a rope, dropped down to the ground and walked over to where Liz was. "Yeah, just like how Captain America and Couch Wilson are friends?"

Peter was at a lose for words, Liz could tell. "I've met him, yeah, a couple times," Peter said, pointing out randomly. "But it's, ah, through the Stark Internship. Hmm...Yeah but I'm not really supposed to talk about it." His words got sturdy as he spoke. And when he finished, he looked back at Ned like he knew something he shouldn't. And then told everyone.

"Oh, that's awesome!" Flash replied sarcastically. "You know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party."

Now Peter looked to Liz for confirmation. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm, uh, having people over tonight," she replied, clasping her hands together. "You're more than welcome to come by. Why did I stutter? she thought. Peter was the one looking all confused, forgetting what to say. Why did Liz add the uh. She knew she was having a party for a while now. Was Peter actually rubbing off on her?

"You're having a party?" Peter repeated.

Flash took another step forward. "Yeah it's gonna be dope. You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man."

Peter stuttered once more. "Um," he said quietly.

"It's okay," Liz said. "I know that Peter's way too busy for parties anyway."

"Aw, come on," Flash said. "He'll be there; right, Parker?" He patted Peter on the back when the bell rang, announcing the end of the period.

Liz stood up. She and Peter made eye contact one more time before she walked out of the gymnasium. At the door, Liz turned around and saw Peter just about flip out on Ned. But after they shared a few words, it looked like gears clicked in Peter's mind. What were they always whispering about?

The rest of the school day was normal. Liz just couldn't wait to get home, so she could set up the party. And hopefully, maybe, Peter would actually show up to something. Would it make up for bailing going to Washington? Maybe. Unless he bailed the party, too. But, Liz told herself, she, nor no one needed Peter. The academic decathlon team would be fine. They've been practicing for a while now.

Liz washed those thoughts out of her mind as she got on the bus, taking a seat next to Betty Brant. "Do you think Peter's actually gonna show up?" Liz asked.

"Why does it matter?" Betty asked.

Liz shrugged. "I...I just don't want him to always squeeze his way out of things."

Liz and Betty got off the bus and walked home. They both went to Liz's house to set up for the party. Liz's parents were not home, and wouldn't be the whole night, so she took that as an advantage to have some fun. Liz unlocked the door and walked inside. She placed her book-bag down and put the keys on the counter.

"I seriously think that we should get balloons," Betty suggested, getting out a cup and filling it with water. "Everyone loves balloons."

Liz shook her head. "Ah, not really," she replied with a smirk. "I don't."

"Well where are we gonna get pizza from?"

"Pizza?" Liz repeated.

"Yeah, Liz," Betty said. "Every good party has pizza." She took a sip of water from the cup and picked up the keys again. "Let's just take the bus, go to...a store and buy some drinks. Red solo cups, maybe?"

Liz nodded, seeming that she did need to buy a few things before people arrived. "Okay, let me just get my purse," she replied. Liz went upstairs to get her money from her room. She sat on her bed after picking up the small, pink, pocketbook. Liz took a breath and laid on her back on her bed that was made. She went downstairs only after she heard Betty calling her from the kitchen.

Both girls went out and bought some supplies for the party. Plastic cups, paper plates, extra trash bags just in case, drinks, and a few extra things. And, Betty bought a few balloons. After they came back from the bus, Betty ran back inside the house.

"Yes!" she yelled, spinning in circles. "We are so ready!" Betty placed the bags full of party supplies on the island, but then she froze. "Music?"

"Flash," Liz answered simply. Flash was going to be the DJ during the party. He said he could handle that part.

Betty nodded. "Right," she responded, pulling out a multicolor light. "Let's get goin'."

The girls spent the next hour or so cleaning up the house a bit. Liz put things hidden away to they wouldn't break. Betty put lights up so the house would be different colors; it would look amazing from the outside because there was so many windows. As they finished, the doorbell rang. People started to flow inside, getting cups and drinking. Coke, though; Liz wasn't going to have beer - or anything like that - at her party.

The sun set and Betty turned on the multicolor lights, adding a neat glow to the home. Flash was in the living room with a small DJ set, playing music, keeping a small crowd of people dancing. He really was doing a good job. Liz ordered a few pizzas and set them open in the kitchen. A couple people bought snacks and they were put in bowls and scattered around on tables.

Things were going good. People were laughing, having fun. Liz didn't expect it to run so smoothly.

The only thing missing was Peter Parker.


	5. Chapter 5

Liz started to believe that Peter just completely bailed on the party. Ned wasn't even there, either.

It's been a while now and Liz was still looking around for the pair. Of course, she did it on the low, not wanting people to know she was waiting for Peter. He was just the nerd, the kid everyone made fun of, but yet Liz still wanted him to show up. Maybe it was because she wanted to see Spider-Man, but she didn't know. She didn't even know if Peter Parker would actually bring him. Was Parker lying about everything? So he was just going to not come because he couldn't actually bring Spider-Man?

Liz shook her head and took a sip of the Sprite she had in her red solo cup. "It's okay, Liz," she told herself. "Everything is fine."

The pressure of hosting a party was getting to her.

Liz walked over to a window and sat on the sill, looking at the street in front of her home. Like a car would come by and drop off Peter. Maybe it would be his aunt, maybe another friend? Who knew anymore; it was Peter, who really knew anything about Peter.

Betty walked by. "We did good, Liz!" she said, patting her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, we did," Liz replied, giving Betty a smile. She felt most of the pressure float away a bit. Betty helped set this up and she didn't feel any pressure. That is good news, right?

As Betty walked by, Liz looked back outside, into the street. She watched as a black car drove by, but it stopped in front of her home. Liz's first thought was that it was Peter. And when the car stayed in the street for about a minute, Liz was sure that it was the boy from her academic decathlon team. Who else would just stop like that? He was probably talking to Ned...or maybe his aunt? Or - Liz seriously doubting it - Spider-Man?

Liz watched two people get out of the car, then speak to the driver once more. And she knew at that point it was Peter and Ned. The question was if they actually where going to stay at the party or leave. Liz hopped of the window sill and walked around a bit, acting normal. She came across people tossing glass bowls in the kitchen and intervened, taking the bowls away and putting it back in the cabinet.

"D-D-D-DJ Flash!" was blared throughout the house. But that was expected. It as Flash who was the DJ and he wanted people to know about his music skill.

Liz passed Michelle on her way to the door, eager to greet Peter and Ned at the door. "Oh my gosh," Liz said, walking forward to the two new guest who stood in the doorway. "Hey, guys. Cool hat, Ned."

Ned smiled, bowing his head a bit. He was wearing a brown cowboy hat. "Hi, Liz," he said confidently.

"Hey, Liz," Peter said quickly. And quietly, or maybe it was just the music Flash was playing that drowned out the sound.

Either way, Liz ignored it. "I'm so happy you guys came," she said, putting her empty hand on her hip. "There's pizza and drinks; help yourself." She then dropped her hand and twisted her shoulders a bit.

Peter looked around the house from where he stood. "What a great party," he replied after his attention was brought back to the girl in front of him.

Liz smiled. "Thanks," she responded.

There was a loud crash, the sound of glass breaking. All three turned and looked where the crash came from. The kitchen.

"Oh," Liz said. "I...my parents will kill me if anything is broken. I gotta ah..."

"Yeah," Peter finished for her. He understood.

Liz started to walk away, going to grab whatever was being tossed around again - or what was remaining on the floor. She turned around. "Have fun," she said.

"Bye," Ned replied.

"Bye," Liz repeated, walking into the kitchen.

She put her cup on the counter and looked down - there was glass shatters from cereal bowls everywhere, though no people were still there. Lucky them, Liz thought, bringing out a broom and a dust pan to clean up the mess. Wouldn't want people to get glass in their feet at a party. As Liz swept up the mess, she heard Flash's words to Peter on the microphone that he hooked up to speakers around the home.

"Penis Parker! What's up?" He played some air horn sounds. "So where's your pal Spider-Man? Lemme guess: in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?" More air horns. "That's not Spider-Man; that's just Ned in a red shirt." Enter some more air horns.

Liz sighed and threw out the glass in a bag. Then she doubled the bag and brought it to the trash can just to be extra safe. Also so her parents wouldn't see a bunch of broken glass and flip. After she reentered the home, Liz picked her cup back up and looked around, wanted to talk to Peter more. Maybe question him about Washington D.C. a bit. But when she walked around, she could only find Ned awkwardly standing in the middle of a room.

"Ned?" Liz asked, walking up to him. "Where'd Peter go?"

Ned froze. "He, um, he's in the bathroom?"

"You seem a bit uncertain," Liz replied, questioning Ned.

"I'm just a bit flushed," Ned said.

Liz could tell that something was up. Peter was leaving the party already - and he left Ned? She changed the subject instead in an attempt to make Ned a bit less uncomfortable. "You're still going to Washington, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ned replied. His hand was shaking a bit in his pocket, like he wanted to pull out something, but on the other hand he didn't.

"Nice," Liz said, walking backwards. "C'ya around, then, Ned."

She had to get out of there. It was so awkward. Liz went upstairs into her room for a moment. She had to clear her head. Sitting on her bed, she took a breath and told herself it was okay. But she was still worried about Peter. Where had he ran off to? She splashed water on her face and returned downstairs. This time, Ned was on his phone, trying to get someone to answer. It was probably Peter.

Because he was missing now, and it'd been less than five minutes.

Liz concentrated on having fun, enjoying herself. Tonight was the night she didn't need to think about school, or even collage. Tonight was the night to have fun and she was thinking about where Peter had ran off to. This was normal; it wasn't something Liz could change either. So, she ignored the fact that Parker was gone all of a sudden, and hung out with Betty and a few other friends.

They were cracking jokes and laughing. Liz got a few more complements on how her party was good. The night turned out well. Flash wasn't really annoying with the DJ stand. And when the party died down and people left, he left without coming up to Liz and asking stupid questions. So Liz was happy. Ned got picked up after he failed to reach whoever he was trying to call.

And, as predicted from many people, Spider-Man was a no-show.

"That was fun, Liz," Betty said.

"Thanks for helping me clean it all up, though," Liz replied. They had trash bags full of cups and pizza crust as they stood at the doorway.

Betty smiled. "No problem. I can take these and throw them out," she suggested. "My mom is picking me up."

"Great," Liz accepted the offer.

After Betty left with the trash, Liz had to rearrange some of the things like pillows and shelves. Honestly, she was beat and could not wait to get to sleep. The only thing that was really bad was the couple of bowls that had been smashed. Hopefully she'd live to finish the year of school after her parents found out. And she would tell them because it would be worse if they found out later.

Liz was finally able to jump into bed after she changed and brushed her teeth. She brought out her phone as she turned on the small lamp and placed her head on the pillow. Liz opened up iMessenger and sent a text to Betty.

Thanks again for helping.

It took a few minutes for Betty to reply.

I got your back, Liz. A shame your boyfriend didn't show up, though, huh?

Liz smiled. By boyfriend, she knew what Betty meant. Spider-Man. Liz's fingers glided across the keyboard as she answered back.

Ha, ha. Funny.

Betty typing in a reply, deleted it, and typed another reply instead. Liz knew this because of the three dots that disappeared, then reappeared.

Goodnight.

Goodnight. See you at school tomorrow.

Liz put her phone on the night stand next to her bed and shut off the lamp. Betty was always there for her. But Washington was only a few days away and this was the one thing that Betty couldn't help with. Now, either could Peter.

Liz curled up under her covers and closed her eyes. She fell asleep eventually. Only after her nerves for the day about Washington floated away.


	6. Chapter 6

Liz got ready for school the next morning. Her parents still weren't home, but she was totally fine with that, considering she did not was to tell them about the bowls. But, if she waited to tell them, they would find out somehow and everything'd be worse because Liz kept it a secret. But that was what she wanted to do. Her family wasn't big about secrets, though; if something was going on or happening, they all needed to know about it.

There was just an inch in the back of her head, though, and she thought she was making a big deal out of nothing. Could this be a non-big-deal? Liz wondered if her parents were going to actually freak out about a few bowls that could easily be bought back. They did know that she was having a party the night they left. They should have in mind that parties aren't always having fun and getting drunk. There is someone who pays for the damage done, and Liz didn't want it to be her, let alone her parents.

Anyways, instead of Liz eating a big breakfast that her mother cooks, she stuck with cereal. And as she got on the bus, Betty was eager to speak with her. It was written all over her face that she had something she wanted to know. Liz sat down next to her best friend.

"What...?" Liz asked, slowly trailing off. She had no idea what Betty wanted to talk about. Was there another Spider-Man video on YouTube she missed?

Betty made a sad expression. "I heard about the bowls."

"Betty, it isn't a big deal," Liz replied, although it was - or was it not? Liz was confusing herself now. "I'm sure my parents will understand."

"Are you sure?" Betty asked. "Because I-"

Liz cut her off. "Seriously, Betty, it's fine."

Liz finished the bus ride and went through a normal, casual day at school. Not much happened. Although she did notice that Peter and Ned walked off to do something special. And they stayed after school. Who knew what they were doing anymore? After all, it was Peter she was thinking about. Maybe Peter was helping Ned study for Washington? After school ended, Liz got off the bus and headed home. She walked in the door and her mother was waiting in the kitchen her with arms crossed like she figured out a huge problem. She had found out?

Liz immediately walked over to her mom, not even bothering to take off her backpack. "Mom, I can explain," she begged. Half of her wanted to get it over, the other half wanted to keep the broken glass a secret.

"Explain what?" Mrs. Allan replied, cocking her head to the side.

Liz was confused. "Huh?" she blurred out without realizing it. Her mother didn't find out? Where the bowls left unnoticed still? She slipped off her school bag and placed it on the island in the kitchen. "Why are you waiting here like this?" Liz asked instead.

"Your father isn't home yet."

"Oh," Liz responded, not expecting that answer at all. "Where is he?"

Her mother shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "What do you need to explain, though?"

Oh, here is comes. The inevitable moment of truth that Liz didn't want to bring up. But she did, and it was on a mistake that she made; her mother didn't even know about the crushed cereal bowls yet because she was too fed up with Mr. Toomes being late from whatever-he-was-doing. Liz let out a huff. How could she tell her mother in a way that wouldn't make it sound so harsh?

"Well, mom," she started, "y'know about the party I had, right?"

Her mother nodded and Liz could tell that she had no idea where this was going.

"Okay, so, during the party-"

Liz was cut off. "Oh! Did that boy show up?" Mrs. Allan asked, referring to Peter.

"Yes, but he randomly left," Liz answered, with an eye roll. Peter was stupid to just leave Ned.

"Aw, what a shame," her mother replied, slapping her hand against the island. "Invite him back so I can tell him what I think about him and his stupid actions."

Liz couldn't just procrastinate anymore. She had to get it out. "I broke some bowls."

Her mother did a small chuckle as if it was a funny joke. "What?"

"Well, it wasn't me; a few people were tossing the glass bowls around and they broken," Liz explained. The secret was just pouring out of her; she couldn't keep it in much longer. It felt...wrong to lie to her parents. "I told them to stop and took the bowls away, but they got them back and then they fell, crashing on the floor. By the time I got there, the people fled and left the glass on the ground."

"Liz, what did you do with the glass? Did anyone get hurt?" her mother blurted out. "I don't want any phone calls for a hospital bill."

Liz shook her head. "No one got hurt, Mom," she responded. "I swept the glass up and threw it out in a few plastic bags."

"Good, baby," Mrs. Allan said, walked over to where Liz was standing. She rubbed her hand against her daughter's cheek. "Anything else break?" she then asked, taking a step back.

"No."

"I'm mad at you, but I'm glad you cleaned it up," her mother said, looking at her feet, then raising her head. "I'm considering grounding you. For a long time."

Liz accepted that. As long as she could still go to nationals in Washington, D.C. It meant so much to her; it was her future. Liz read coaching books and certain articles to help the team out and it'd be a shame if she couldn't go after all the hard word she put in. After losing Peter, the team needed people to help them. So she told her mom that she understood the punishment. And her mother knew too well what the decathlon team meant to Liz; she couldn't take that away from her. So she didn't.

Liz went upstairs to her room. She had a little bit of homework to finish up on and then she wanted to head to her computer. And once she did get through the agonizing homework, she looked a few more things and in one book, she read that it was good to do a group activity right before the competition.

A shiver of nerves went through Liz's spine when she remembered that she was leaving tomorrow to go off to Washington. Was the team ready? Yes, Liz, we are ready; we are fine, she told herself.

And since she and the rest of the team could study on the bus on their way to the biggest test of their life, Liz grabbed her laptop and turned it on. She opened YouTube, but was let down when there was no new videos of Spider-Man. So instead, she went downstairs. Her mother was cooking dinner, but there was still no sign of Mr. Toomes.

"Mom," Liz started once she walked around the island once, making sure her mother noticed her. "What does Dad do?"

"First off, Liz, don't think that you will be let off the hook because your father isn't here," Mrs. Allan responded.

Liz never thought of that. "Hmm," she muttered.

"And second, your father brings home money so that we can live in this home, and eat, and pay bills."

"Okay, I get it," Liz responded. "But what does he do?"

"Work."

Liz realized this conversation was going no-where. At all, completely. So she went back upstairs and decided to repaint her nails while listening to music. And when her father did come back home, she was hoping to ask him what he actually did that made him so late - if he ever made it home. Which he would. Once Liz reentered her room, the panic started to hit her that today was Friday and she would be leaving to go to Washington tomorrow morning. She sat on her bed and her head dropped in her hands. Breathing in heavily, Liz started to walk around her room.

"It's okay," she told herself from before. "What can go wrong?"

Stupid question, she thought. They could die so many ways before even getting there on the bus - not even making it to Washington. Liz and the team could lose. People could get sick and Midtown could be disqualified for thousands of reasons Liz didn't even think about at the moment. Millions of other reasons swarmed her head for the sake of herself, she opened up YouTube and played the never ending playlist of music titled "My Mix."

Liz grabbed a bottle of white nail polish and after getting rid of the old color, started to paint anew. She choice white because of the meaning - well also because she hadn't used it in a while. It's the most common color in nature, and well, its beautiful. White is freedom; purity, innocence, and light. As Liz got rid of the old polish, it was like she was starting new.

Like she was simply getting rid of her nerves about Washington. She was forgetting the whole miss communication about Peter Parker. She was letting go of Spider-Man. Well, she told herself all of these things. It made her feel better.

And once she finished. Liz went downstairs and ate dinner. She had an awkward on and off conversation with her mother about nations because Liz's father still wasn't there. It was only when Liz went back upstairs, ready for the big day tomorrow when her father burst through the door and ran into his room. He was mumbling under his breath, and to Liz, he looked pissed.

After putting on her pajamas, Liz slowly opened her door and walked to her fathers room. "Dad?" she asked, dragging out the word.

"Tell you mother that I have to go out for a work project, Gumdrop!" Mr. Toomes replied.

Liz nodded even though her dad could see her and went down stairs to her mom who was sitting on the couch. Mrs. Allan's hand was holding up her head as it leaned against the arm rest. Her legs crossed at the ankles. She looked beat, now. And Liz's mother normally didn't look like this. Normally, she was the joyfully, happy, bright mom.

"I know already," Mrs. Allan announced. "Business trip again."

"Well, where's he going?"

Liz's mother sighed. "Who knows anymore," she responded. "Just hope he makes it back." She paused, realizing it was a rude thing to say in front of her daughter and tried to fix it. "Baby, go get some sleep; you have a big day tomorrow."

Liz nodded and headed up to bed. She was a bit tired and wasn't ready at all for tomorrow. Even through all the practice and questions she and her team went through, Liz still felt like she wasn't ready. She was still nervous. But she read online that that you should turn the nerves into excitement, and she knows better than to break down in front of the team - she is the leader, and if she falls apart, the whole team does. So that's what she tried to do; making herself happy and excited about tomorrow.

Although she didn't want to make herself feel like her team would definitely win - over power on confidence. Because the team did have flaws; they were just kids. They were smart, but they were just kids. And either way, with Peter or not, they were good.

Liz closed her eyes, and part of her hoped the next day would never come. But the other part wanted the day to come sooner so she could be in the spot like.


	7. Chapter 7

Next thing Liz knew, she was waiting outside of the school with the rest of the academic decathlon, including Mr. Harrington, who was walking around on the bus already. They were all wearing their golden Midtown jackets, ready to get on the bus to go to Washington D.C with their luggage. Was Liz nerves, yes. Was she excited, very. But she was ready to go and get it over with. And she was feeling a bit confident.

The team had studied nonstop when they weren't at school - at least that's what most of them told Liz. Even if it was just to maker her happy and less stressed. She was happy, though, and ready to start this. For the drive down, they would all get on a bus until they arrived at their hotel. The hotel were a lot of the students for nationals would be until the competition started the next day.

And they were just about to get on the bus when Abraham called out. And Liz had to do a double take.

"Hey, it's Peter!" he announced, leaning on the bus with his back.

"Guys-" Peter started as he walked up, backpack on.

Liz interrupted him anyways, full of excitement. "Peter?" she questioned, like it wasn't really him.

To be honest, Liz got a bit worried at first. What was Peter going to do? But then a small smirk covered her face; she was happy that Peter was coming back to the team, but she didn't really want to show it. Because, well, he was the biggest nerd in school. And he didn't have many friends. And he built LEGOs on his free time. People labeled him as a loser. Of course, Liz was on the academic decathlon team, but Peter was by far smarter than her. And even she knew it.

"Yeah, I was hoping I could rejoin the team," Peter asked, pausing a few times as he asked.

And then Liz smiled.

"No, no way," Flash but in, walking up front to face Parker. "You cant just quit on us, stroll up and expect to be welcome backed by everyone."

Mr. Harrington exited the bus at that moment and walked forward. His head popped up at the sight of Peter and he opened his arms a bit in surprise, not even listening to what any of his students had to say. "Hey! Welcome back, Peter! Hey, Flash, you're back to first alternate."

"What?" Flash snapped.

Abraham laughed. "He's taking your place," he said.

"Ah, excuse me?" Michelle piped up, leaning forward so everyone could see her from the back. "Can we go already? I was hoping to get in some light protesting before dinner?"

Mr. Harrington did a slight nod, then pointed behind him to the group's ride." Protesting is patriotic; let's get on the bus."

Flash tore off his golden jacket and tossed it to Peter. Annoyance was clearly covered across his whole body. But Liz was happy Peter came back. After all the trash talk she thought about him, she really did want him to be on the trip with her - and the rest of the team, of course. He helped out a lot when answering question because, well, he was smart. And Liz smiled in his presences.

As expected, on the bus they practiced more. Liz stood in the bus's alley where you'd get on and off and ask the questions. The rest of the students were in the seats with bells. And as Liz read off cards, they would answer the questions. But Liz was careful not to overwork them. Topics changed only after the questions were answered correctly. Moons of Saturn, was one of the topics that Peter answered correctly.

"Glad to be back," Liz said after Peter gave the right answer.

"Glad to be back," he repeated with a simple nod. He then looked down.

Liz was in the middle of asking another question, read straight from her card when Peter stood up. He brought out his phone and pointed to it.

"Can I take this real quick? I'll only be a sec," he asked.

"Yeah, fine," Liz replied and Peter walked to the back of the bus and plopped in a seat behind Ned.

Liz kept her eye on the two boys as they sat in the back, Peter still on the phone as Ned pointed to something he was holding in the seat he was currently sitting in. What it was, Liz had no idea. But she didn't interrupt them like she deeply wanted to, to ask about it. In fact, there were a lot of things she wanted to ask to Peter. Where did he always go? was a big one. But Liz had slowly gotten used to the idea that Peter is just a quiet kid that likes to keep things to himself.

After the four hour trip, they finally arrived to their final destination. The bus pulled up to the front entrance and everyone got off with their things. Then, Liz guessed , the driver drove off to get food or something. Maybe stay at another hotel? But the hotel Liz and the academic decathlon team were staying in was amazing. Glass was everywhere outside, letting pure sunlight shine through.

"Alright, stick together," Liz called out behind her. She was in the front of the group as they walked up to sign in at the front desk.

"Yeah," Mr. Harrington added.

The rest of the academic decathlon team looked up in aw at all the hotel doors. Washington D.C. signs where hung about the hotel, showing off the nationals competition that was being held there. There was a tweeting sound coming from up above. Plenty of other kids walked around breathlessly. The people who ran the thing must have a lot of money to do this.

Ethan followed behind Liz. "Are you kiddin' me?" he asked. "This place is huge."

"I've seen bigger," Flash responded.

Abraham pointed up. "There's a bird in there," he announced, putting together the pieces of the random tweeting from up above.

Liz got her own room, but she was right next to Mr. Harrington on her left, and Flash on her right. She tossed her luggage on the bed and sighed, a small big of relief washing over her. Here she was, in Washington, D.C. Tomorrow, she would be quizzed. And then, who knows? Maybe she'd win. Liz brought out her laptop as she sat on her bed. She opened YouTube and searched up if there were any new videos of Spider-Man.

And to her surprise, there were.

They were short, but still videos. One of him splashing onto a pool, another of him running through backyards, jumping on roofs, trying to chase a broken up van. One of the videos was just two little girls talking about how he ruined their night by scaring them both half to death.

Liz wondered why Spider-Man would be chasing the battered up van. Did people manage to sneak under the radar and actually rob a bank, only to be hunted down? A few more theories came into Liz's head that she managed to think up. But none of them sounded...right.

After Liz finished watching the videos, she picked up her luggage and moved it off the bed. And, the bed was really soft. It was extremely comfortable. Liz brought out her phone and sent a text to Betty, informing her that she had safely arrived. But there was no response, so Liz placed her phone on the nightstand. She exited her room only to find most of the students wondering around in the hallways.

Flash walked up to her. "I'm ready to eat," he said.

"Me too, actually," Liz replied. She walked up to Mr. Harrington and asked what they were going to eat.

"Teens, always thinking about food," the teacher mumbled, but allowed them to order pizza.

And, even though Liz ate pizza a few days ago, she thought the dinner tasted amazing. After dinner, most of the students agreed to do a rebellious group activity. They decided on going swimming late at night in the indoor pool. And so after changing into a swimsuit - and raiding the snack machine - they gathered outside of Liz's room and started to run through the balcony, eager to get into the water. Ran, without making any sounds, but laughter.

Liz had her towel draped over her shoulder as she turned left, almost to the elevator to go down the levels when Peter exited his room that he shared with Ned. He had a sweatshirt on, and the hood was up. His facial expression at first was worried, like Liz was going to grill him on where he was going. But then it softened.

"Hey, Liz," Peter said.

"Perfect timing," Liz whispered, trying not to get attention from anyone else in their rooms. She wanted to reach the pool without Mr. Harrington knowing. She walked around Peter, jumping from one foot to the other. "We're gonna go swimming." She put her hand up, waving for the rest of the group to follow as she talked to Parker for a second.

Giggles escaped from the group as they ran by. Cindy quietly said. "Hey, Peter," as she ran, towel in hand. Flash was last, and as he pasted, he put his hand out and smacked Peter in the butt. Parker jumped, startled a bit, in return, but the rest of the group cracked up. Liz included.

"Aye!" Peter yelled, in a whisper, throwing his hands up. He then calmed down and spoke again. "I was just...I was just gonna go study, in, um, in the business center."

"Peter, you don't need to study you are like the smartest guy I've ever met," Liz replied, watching Peter's face light up. "And besides, a rebellious group activity the day before competition is good for morale."

"Hmm...?" Peter asked, cocking his head to the side a bit.

Liz moved her hair away from her face, a bit nerves to tell Peter this. "Um, well, I read that in a tedx. I heard it in a tedx," Liz confessed. "And I read a coaching book," she added. She then nodded confidently.

"Wow, you really," Peter started. "This is really important to you."

"Yeah, it's our future," Liz replied, raising an eyebrow as Peter swallowed. "I'm not gonna screw it up. Besides, we raided the mini-bar, and these candy bars were like, eleven dollars. So get your trunks on, and come on." Liz tossed a candy bar at Peter then turned around and started to jog to where the other students were giggling at. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Liz said.

Together, the group snuck in the elevator and opened the door to the indoor pool. Immediately, Flash dropped his towel and jumped in. Michelle quietly sat down in a chair on the side and continued to read her book. Cindy slowly went in; she opted for the stairs. Liz, well she walked to the center of the pool on the thin walls separating the different sections and sat down, legs kicking in the water.

She bent over and started to splash Abraham and Cindy; they were the two closest people.

"Aw, come on, Liz!" Ethan called out from the hot tub. "Go in!"

Liz shook her head. "I'm not going in when Flash is right there!" Liz replied.

So Flash got out of the water and put his hands on his hips. "What about now?" he asked.

Liz gripped the half wall she was sitting on. "Maybe in a few minutes," she responded.

Flash nodded his head and jumped back in, making his splash large so it would wet Liz. She covered her head and smirked, continuing to kick her legs out in an attempt to splash everyone. But eventually, she fell in the warm water.

Everyone was laughing as they swam the night away. Even Michelle joined in a couple of times. After about an hour, they got out and had a mini-chocolate feast, clinking each other's bar to one another's like they were at a tea party. And after swimming some more, a few jumping contests, and a splash fight, they decided it was time to head back. Liz climbed out of the pool and wrapped herself in the towel she grabbed from her room.

She let out a small sigh when she realized Peter never showed up. Well, what a surprise. Either way, he was smart, and choice not to show up to the pool party. So maybe he felt like he was ready. About Ned? Liz didn't know; she never saw him come out of the room. But, anyways, she got that out of her mind and focused on the present. She had fun tonight, and that was what mattered. The pool was supposed to relive stress and all in all make everyone feel happy. Mission complete.

After Liz made it back to her room with the rest of the team behind her and they headed their own ways. Liz changed into her pajamas and headed to the bathroom, only after picking up her phone and checking to see it Betty responded. Which she did.

Have fun, but not too much. ;) And win for me! Good luck!

Liz didn't respond, only because Betty was sure to be asleep by then. Hopefully. But either way, she smiled at the message and placed her phone on the bathroom counter as she brushed her teeth, music playing in the background. And to be honest, Liz felt really good about tomorrow. She was happy and excited.

After the bathroom, Liz crashed in her bed. Tomorrow was the day, but she was ready. With a warm smile across her face, Liz fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Liz got up extra early the next morning in order to shower before they went off to nationals. After she got cleaned and changed, she headed out her hotel room with a small purse, able to fit in a pocket and her golden jacket. Liz noticed most of the students already in the hallway or coming out at the same time she was. Mr. Harrington was about to go back in his room for who-knows-what before he turned to Liz.

"Gimme a quick sec," he said, unlocking the brown door of his hotel room. "But could you go get Ned and Peter? Tell them to hurry up or we will be late."

Liz nodded and headed off to the directed of the two boys' room, going the way she did last night, as Mr. Harrington walked into his room. She passed the window where Ned and Peter were staying and stood in front of the door for a second as she spoke.

"Ned, Peter, c'mon. We're gonna be late," Liz said, knocking on the door a few times. "C'mon, let's go."

The muffled sounds of Ned's response came from behind the door. "Okay, hold on, hold on."

Liz saw him by the window, moving the curtain, as she started to head back to where the other group members were standing. Mr. Harrington was out of his room by the time Liz came back. But the way Ned acted, moving the curtain like he was worried about something, that put Liz on edge a bit.

"Well?" Mr. Harrington asked, referring to when Ned and Peter would be coming out.

"Soon," Liz replied simply.

After about a minute, Ned walked over. Alone. "Peter, ah, Peter went out this morning and will meet up with us."

Liz started to get suspicions about that. Parker skipped going to the pool, and now he was gone once more, just like the party back at Liz's house. There one second, gone the next. Almost like a bug someone is trying to kill because it managed to find a way to get in their home. When they run off to get a napkin, it disappeared, only to randomly come back when they least expect it.

And considering the crush Peter had on Liz - she could easily tell the way he tensed up every time she walked over and because he stared at her, as well - she wondered why he would skip spending time with her. Especially at a pool. But, where could Peter have gone to now? He didn't have a car, and he didn't bring a crap-ton of money either.

Flash said exactly what Liz was thinking. "Where'd the loser go, then?"

"Flash," Mr. Harrington sternly said. "Peter isn't a loser."

"Yeah. Last time I checked, he's the one hangin' out with Tony Stark, not you," Abraham added.

Flash was about to say something else - probably question Parker's internships - when Liz put her hands up slightly. "Guys," she interrupted. "Are we going to go, or start a fight?"

"Peter went out," Ned stated. "He'll be back before the competition."

Heard that one before, Liz thought.

Mr. Harrington guided the students down, and out the door. They headed down the street where the competition was being held. The sky was a dull blue with a drop of orange across it due to it being early. There were other students crossing the street, business men and women heading to work as well. Washington D.C. was busy. Cars drove by. Liz looked around, realizing the Washington Monument was right next to where they were heading.

They all entered the building. A female voice rang out. "Please make sure all cell-phones are turned off."

Walking in a line, Liz dropped her phone in a bin and headed backstage. They were about to start the first competition. If it came down to a tie, sudden death would be announced and the winner would be, well, the winner. The team had a few minutes and Mr. Harrington decided on a small pep talk, so they all stood in a circle. Liz had given plenty of these pep talks to herself in the days before competition. She was worried about what was going wrong in Peter's mind, why he was skipping everything.

And when he returned yesterday, right before the team left, she was happy. They now had him back. But as the seconds ticked down before they had to go on stage and test their limits on knowledge, Peter was missing again. Missing like he always ran off to do something. Liz realized he could get expelled for skipping a school trip like this. Did Peter seriously use the bus ride to get down to Washington, only to sight-see and then end up getting expelled? Now that was stupid.

Winning this challenge was Liz's future. But yet here was Peter, bailing it just like everything else for his own personal gain. Liz forced those harsh thoughts out of her head. Peter was genially a nice guy, a gentleman. This wasn't like him. He should be smarter than to just run off at a school trip.

"Liz, anything you wanna add?"

Her brain was clouded with her own thoughts too much she missed out on the pep talk. Liz blinked a few times and shook her head. "No," she said, looking to Mr. Harrington who had spoke a few seconds before her. "Just do your best."

"We should bring it in," Cindy said.

"Bring it in?" Flash repeated. "And say what? Midtown? By the way, topic still on Peter: expelled?"

Mr. Harrington sighed. "Possibly."

Flash smiled as he shoved his hand in the center of the small circle. "Midtown on three it is, then?"

"Ah, we can do better than just Midtown," Ethan added, putting his hand in as well.

"What about Midtown...Tech?" Flash questioned.

Mr. Harrington rolled his eyes. "Just hurry," he said, throwing his hand in the center.

The other members followed and their hands went in, too. Liz added hers as she looked around, hoping to see Peter pop out of no-where but to no avail. Well, here goes another day when Peter misses out and leaves something, Liz thought.

"Midtown on three?" Mr. Harrington asked, receiving nodded from his students around him. "One, two-"

"Midtown!" Flash cheered, throwing his hand up and walking up on stage.

Michelle wearily tossed her hand up. "Midtown," she repeated and walked up.

The rest of the academic decathlon team followed. Then the competition started. As the woman in the center, between the two schools gave out questions, Liz, her classmates, and the other school's members wrote down answers, trying to figure the question out. Liz answered one correctly. It filled her with confidences as the next question was given out.

"We have now entered sudden death," the announcer said as time slowly passed. "The next correct answer wins the championship."

Everyone placed their hands over their bells in front of them, ready to ring at a moments notice. Liz looked down at the work she did for the problem when a bell went off. She looked up, trying to see who rung it. Michelle. All eyes turned to the quiet girl.

Michelle moved her head backwards a bit, acting like the answer was obvious. "Zero," she said.

The woman announcing the whole thing eyes got a bit wide and she nodded a few times. "That is correct! Midtown takes the championship!"

Midtown Tech erupted into cheers and they threw their hands in the air. Liz was ecstatic. After all the work she put in, it finally paid off. They won. They were winners. And they actually didn't need Peter. They won without him. But Liz was a bit worried deep inside. Where in the world was he? The competition ended and he still didn't show up, or call, text. Nothing. Peter seemed to just have a wish for being expelled because it might simply happen.

The winners basically hopped off stage, grabbed their things back - along with the huge trophy they won - and to celebrate, walked over for a tour of the Washington Monument. Jumping with every step, they headed across the street. As they entered the Washington Monument, Liz gave her jacked to Michelle, not wanting to carry it or wear it, and her bag on the conveyer belt to make sure nothing was dangerous. Michelle stayed outside of the Monument, head dug in her book. She didn't want to sight-see because it was built by slaves. But, Liz on the other hand, was glad to get the burden of her future off of her shoulders. She felt like she could do anything at the moment.

As Liz was about to go through a metal detector, she instead grabbed the phone that was held up to Ned's ear that he was quickly speaking into. "Peter, is that you?" she asked, finally having the courage to ask what was up with him.

"Oh, hey, Liz," Peter responded from the other side. Hearing Liz seemed to brighten up his day, Liz thought from the way his voice sounded. "Please put Ned back on the phone."

"No, wait," Liz replied. "You are so lucky we won. Y'know, I wanna be mad, but I am more worried. Like, what is going on with you?"

"Liz, I have to talk to Ned," Peter replied, ignoring Liz's question. "It's really important."

One of the police officers standing next to the metal detector put his hand up. "Miss, all items on the belt, please," he said, waving his hand.

Liz turned and looked at the officer, and after a slight nod, she placed Ned's phone on the conveyer belt, forgetting to hang up. She walked through the metal detector, not making it beep and walked forward, going inside of the elevator to take her, and the rest of her classmates to the top of the Washington Monument. Well, all classmates in the academic decathlon team but Peter, of course.

They all squeezed inside, along with the trophy that was clutched between Flash's hands, and the tour guide who would give them a few facts.

"The Washington Monument is 555 and one inch tall," the woman emotionlessly said as the elevator took off going up.

There were windows around the elevator so Liz could see all the work put into building it.

"Here behind the marble and granite are Coronado stones," the tour guide said, putter her hand up and showing the work of the stones behind her.

Just as she finished, a purple glow went off. Then the glow was gone and in its place, a huge boom! went off, shifting the elevator as it stopped moving and all the passengers froze, scared to move. Smoke started to fill up inside. Liz backed away from the center as Ned ripped off his backpack and tossed it on the ground like there was something in there that caused this all.

Flash's head went up, looking at the ceiling where the metal was now outlined in a circle. From getting hot, a bright orange circle appeared over the students' heads. "Oh my God," he said, fear laced in his voice. "Look at the ceiling."

"Just stay calm, everyone," Liz said, trying to follow her own words. She wanted to freak out, wanted to yell a bit. But she was older than some of the students and had to act like it.

"Yeah," Abraham added, looking up as well. "We are all gonna die here."

Ethan looked up, too. "We're freaking screwed," he noted.

The guide put both of her hands up. "Okay, guys," she started, still in her robot voice. "I know that was scary but our safety systems are working; we're very safe in here."

Yeah, like that was supposed to make them all feel better?


	9. Chapter 9

Panic started to spread. Liz heard glass being broken as the hatchet on the roof of the elevator was popped open by the guide. Yeah, she told them everything is okay, but was the first one to run off. There was a glass door that slid open, where police were waiting to pull up the students and Mr. Harrington. The wires of the elevators shook, creating an elastic sound, almost like a giant rubber band being flung.

Cindy was the first to get out, if you don't count the woman tour guide who helped pull out Liz's classmates as she crouched down on the glass. Cindy was then handed off to the police waiting on the top floor of the Washington Monument.

The top floor.

This wasn't safe; the guide said they were perfectly fine. The whole building could fall at any second and no one even knew what caused it all. Maybe Ned, but he still looked just as worried as everyone else. It could be the fact that they could all die at any second in multiple ways: the elevator's strings could snap and they would all fall, the top of the building could fall and they would get crushed, smoke in their lungs. The list went on and on. Not to mention the roof that was burning in a hot, metal circle.

Liz wished she would have stayed on the ground with Michelle. Who knew, maybe Peter was watching this all play out on the giant flat screen TV in a five star hotel? Liz went from winning her dream, to falling into the hands of death. What a classic turn of events. She couldn't help her mind from racing. As Abraham was lifted out of the elevator in somewhat into safe hands, he looked over the edge and Liz could feel the elevator move slightly. Oh, how her heart was racing.

Ethan was next to get out of the elevator, then more people got out, leaving only four left inside. There was a small bang, like someone was trying to get in, then the faint sound of helicopters. Mr. Harrington was close to getting on one knee, ready to hoist Liz up when Flash got in the way, speaking to himself that it was his turn. He placed his foot on Mr. Harrington's hand, only to put the trophy up to safety before he was propped up on the elevator's roof, hanging on by his upper arms.

That was when the elevator cart shifted again, swinging from side to side, a loud squeezing noise filling the air. Yells followed, from Flash, who looking like he was hanging on for dear life, the few students already propped up, and from Mr. Harrington. Liz was starting to sweat a little bit, having a bunch of things happen in such little time. Her ponytail from the morning was all messed up. She was feeling overwhelmed, and not to mention worried and scared to the bone.

"Take my trophy!" Flash yelled as the elevator swung more.

The police who were standing on the top floor grabbed the plastic trophy that Flash tossed to them, then immediately looked back down, trying to grab hold of anyone. Liz didn't get why Flash cared so much about the trophy. If they didn't hurry up and get out of the swinging elevator, they'd all be dead and the piece of plastic wouldn't matter. Either way, Liz closed her eyes for a second, focusing on the helicopter noises around her. There were helicopters, so maybe she'd be rescued.

Flash was just hoisted up and out of danger when the elevator was done for. More glass shattered as the center of the elevator, still hooked up to the wires, was discounted from the part holding the passengers by the burned metal and they started to go down. Liz let out a scream, mouth open, eyes closed, as she grabbed the sides of the elevator like it would help. It seemed to pick up speed as it went down, dropping until it would suddenly hit the ground.

That was what Liz thought would happen. Course, she'd be either dead, paralyzed or in shock as it did. But that didn't happen.

The elevator slowed down just a bit, before it fully stopped, going back up slightly from the sudden stop. Liz stopped screaming and opened her eyes, seeing Ned and Mr. Harrington filling her vision. They weren't dead, yet, though. Liz wiped her face, realizing she was now on the floor. But within seconds from when everything stopped, it all started right back up again.

The elevator started to fall once more, this time it seemed another figure was falling down the path Liz just came down, crashing into every wall at every possible second. The elevator stopped again, seeming it was leaning on a piece of metal that was sticking out. Though once the figure came crashing on the floor in a red and blue blur, the weight was too much and Liz started to fall again, screaming as they went. Sparks from the wheels above them flew.

Liz closed her eyes again, still screaming. She couldn't believe what was happening at all. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest at any given moment, and her breath was being taken away every second. How things like this managed to happen, blew her mind. The world was supposed to be a safe place. Well, there were people with superpowers and high technology suits running around, so how safe can it really get?

They continued to fall until Liz opened her eyes only to see the fallen figure throw their hands up from a laying position on the floor. They then flung up to the broken ceiling upside-down, holding on to a thin thread. Just like before, the elevator slowly stopped, until it started to go back up. Liz was astonished to see Spider-Man as the blue and red blur that had saved them. Guess New York was getting boring?

Liz got all wide eyed. She'd only seen the masked hero on YouTube, now, here he was, pulling her and two other people - not including himself - up. Plus the weight of an elevator. A different feeling ran throughout Liz's bones. It was like the feeling of finally getting to meet your favorite celebrity. But it was more that just excitement. Liz was just saved from death by hers.

Spider-Man coughed a few times, still gripping the thin web that was holding everyone alive. He looked to each person, then spoke. "Hey, how you doin'? Don't worry about it; I got you," he said in a surprisingly deep voice.

"Yeah!" Ned yelled, jumping with excitement as he fist pumped the air multiple times. "Yes! Yes!" Seems like he got the same reaction Liz did.

Spider-Man looked over to Ned. "Hey, hey, hey, big guy, quit moving around," he repeatedly commanded, his voice now went up an octave from before.

"Sorry, sorry," Ned replied. "I'm so sorry."

It then took a few awkward minutes of silence - if you don't count Spider-Man's grunting - as he slowly inched the elevator back to the top. Only by grabbing his web and pulling everyone and everything up ever so slightly. Liz's mind was still clouded with questions. Why was he here, in Washington D.C. when Queens was where Spidey worked at? Without exactly coming to an answer, Liz thought that it didn't matter. He saved her; without Spider-Man she would have been dead by now.

"Alright," Spider-Man said after a few grunts. "This is your stop."

They finally arrived at the door where Flash was brought into last. The police were waiting there like dogs waiting for food, as they prided the doors open. Ned exited first, then Mr. Harrington. But Liz still stood next to the Spider-Man, who was telling everyone to get off. She was afraid that if she took a step, the webbing that was holding the two people and the elevator up would fall again. Even just slightly looking at the thin silk, you could tell it was going to break at any second.

Even with the hot and burned ceiling above her head, Liz thought that it could easily snap and send her swearing down again. And, well, Liz was scared that if she dared to move, either the webbing would just snap, sending her down for the third time now or the ceiling would break in two, plummeting her down. The thin metal underneath Spider-Man's feet also started to bend backwards, sending another shiver down her spine. He'd just saved her, and Liz didn't want to let him fall alone.

Mr. Harrington put his hand out, ready to grab Liz as she put her hand out as well. But just at the last second, she was able to catch a glimpse of the metal being bent all the way back where Spider-Man was hanging upside down. Liz's eyes got wide as the elevator started to fall again, since that thin web was the only thing holding Liz and the elevator up, now there was nothing holding it to the top where the door was. Liz started to fall again, letting out another scream.

Right before her feet left the floor, she jumped, hoping to grab hold of the spider clinging to the web still connected to the ceiling but to no avail. So, with her hand still the highest point of her body, Liz fell down to her death for what seemed to be the thousands time that day. And she screamed again, kicking her legs out in every direction possible like it would slow down her fall.

Time just seemed to slow down once more.

But she only fell about six feet when thwip! rang out over the screams and a web connected with her hand and wrist.

Liz was dangling by a thread now. And the person holding her was holding on to a thread as well. Everything was so unstable. It made Liz want to shiver more and more.

Spider-Man started to pull her up, still hanging upside down. "You're okay. You're okay," he repeated in a gentle voice.

Liz was still on edge when their hands connected and she was standing on the ground after what seemed to be years. Her head was slightly shaking, and her hair was messed up big time. But that didn't matter. She could have died so many ways. So many times Liz looked death in the face, but Spider-Man saved her. She had no idea what the YouTube star was actually like...until she was in the action.

"So, ah, is everyone okay?" Spider-Man asked, regaining his deep voice.

Liz nodded, and started to steady her breath a bit. How could she ever go on an elevator or do anything else now after going through that?

Liz and Spider-Man just kept eye contact for a few seconds. Liz's eyes staying a thousand and one words. Thank you, was a huge one. And Who are you really, followed shortly afterwards. But it all ended in a snap at Spidey's web broke due to all of the weight on the thin line like Liz had thought about happening, and he fell down the shaft.

Mr. Harrington leaned over the edge. "Thank you," he yelled.

Liz still hadn't moved when Flash later leaned over with the trophy in his hand and yelled, as well. "Are you really friends with Peter Parker?" were his words, even though the web-slighter was long gone by then. At most, he could he a faint echo.

A few days ago, all Liz dreamed about was winning. Now, she wished that she wouldn't splat so many times. And Spider-Man just happened to be a miracle.

So she breathes another day.


	10. Chapter 10

Liz was brought down to the ground eventually by the helicopter because the elevator needed plenty of repairs. And well, that wouldn't be working for a while until the problem was figured out - by problem, what caused the explosion? There was no bomb particles found in the area, no cameras saw someone shoot anything. So, what set everything off? People wanted to know or else they wouldn't go near the Washington Monument because they were scared that it could be them next in the shaft, about to die.

Police arrived on the spot, ambulance following shortly after. Firetrucks also showed up. They checked each kid, one by one, making sure they were okay. Okay physically; mentally, they all had to get through almost dying. And Liz was not a fan of it, considering she was still shaking just a bit. Liz did have a few scratches, but they were easily taken care of and would heal over time. The shock would still be there, though; she would still felt like she was falling.

Liz was the one who started to fall alone. She saw the faces of the people she knew as they got farther. Her hand waving above her head like she was saying goodbye. Her life just seemed to flash in front of her; Liz believed she would die. The moment played on a loop in her brain, just stopping as the thwip! rang out and Liz stopped falling.

How Spider-Man was able to do it amazed her still. She wanted even more to know who he really was - other than her hero. Liz crossed her arms, rubbing her shoulders even though she wasn't cold. Michelle gave her golden jacket back, and Liz threw it over her shoulder. This would be all over the news, all over school. People would ask Liz about it but all she wanted to do was forget about it.

Liz over heard Mr. Harrington being interviewed by the news. "As you know, we made it out alive," he said, camera in his face. "And that's the important thing. Couldn't bare to lose a student on a school trip." He paused, like he didn't really want to speak anymore. "Not again," he added.

Not again?

Liz shook her head, sitting down on a concrete wall. The thought that Peter still hadn't showed up wasn't that weird anymore. He probably wanted to stay as far away from the monument now. Liz wondered where he could be. Somewhere in D.C. obviously.

She washed those thoughts away as Mr. Harrington started to gather everyone up. Pushing cameras away, everyone got together in a small circle. Liz looked at everyone's expression, seeming they looked just about as freaked out about what happened. They almost died.

"Okay, guys," Liz's coach said. "We are gonna get our things then get outta here. Head back to school. Your parents are probably flipping out about now."

Nods came from the students; Liz agreed. She bet her mother was freaking out, especially after Mr. Toomes hadn't made an appearance back home. Anyone would hate to have both the people they love gone in a snap. After grabbing her bags back at the hotel, Liz waited outside for the bus to arrive. Mr. Harrington was the last person to exit the building, with Peter by his side. Peter had his hoodie back on, and his backpack over his shoulders.

Liz tried not to make eye contact as he boarded the bus. He left her. He scared her. He wasn't there for her. Not that they should be together all they time, Liz thought. But they were on a school trip and should have each others' backs. But yet he just went missing without any clues. Hopefully Mr. Harrington knew what was up, or even Ned. The whole team needed an explanation. Liz wanted to know what was up with him. She wanted answers.

Liz plopped in a seat behind Flash and put her bag next to her. She quickly turned around to see Peter sit down behind Ned, who was eager to ask him question. To be honest, Liz would be like that, too, spilling questions. But she quickly looked back as Flash was looking at her, kneeling on the seat with the trophy in his hand still.

"Looks like the loser decided to show up again?" Flash piped up.

Liz looked up, knowing he was referring to Peter's return. But Mr. Harrington who was sitting a few seats up turned around. "Flash, Peter isn't a loser," he repeated from before in his robotic tone. "If anyone would be a loser, it'd be you; you didn't answer any questions."

Flash opened his mouth wide, not expecting that response. "N-neither did Peter, though."

"Peter wasn't there," Liz added.

"Exactly," Flash said. He turned around so he wasn't leaning on his knees.

The bus took off and some people spoke about stopping for a quick lunch somewhere - which they did after about an hour, but Liz pulled out her phone, only to see a bunch of texts from Betty:

I saw the news.

Liz?

Don't die on me!

Omg, Liz are you okay!

Answer me, god dammit!

ohyouaresogonnagetitwheniseeyouliz.

REPLY!

And one from her mother:

Answer me once the cameras back off, baby.

Liz started to type her answer back, first to her mother, then Betty. And after keeping a steady conversation with her friend through text, Liz plugged her headphones in, drifting away to the sound of music. When she turned the music on, she sunk in her seat a little bit, closing her eyes. Liz forget everything as the music played. Everything but her thoughts.

She still wondered what was up with Peter. He just seemed to disappear and pop up at random times. But at least he wasn't in the moving elevator. If there was a bit more weight in the cart, it would have fallen before Spider-Man was able to show up; then who knows what would have happened. As least Peter managed to find his face way back to the team, right? That was what mattered; and he did make it back to his aunt, too.

But, oh, she hoped her father would be home. Liz hoped that her father would stop working 24/7 and notice her. She could have died today.

And she was caught up in her mind, she didn't realize it when they arrived back at the school.

Cars of frightened parents were already in the parking lot. The sky was dark; night had fallen, but Liz wasn't that hungry for dinner. She was, though, ready to engulf her mother in a hug - and maybe even her father. And that's exactly what she did. Right as Liz got off the bus with her few things of luggage, she ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around Mrs. Allan's shoulders. Only to have her mother do the same thing.

Mrs. Allan then backed up, cupping her daughters hands in her face. "Oh my gosh, my baby girl," she cried out.

"M-mom," Liz said. "Mom, I'm okay."

"C'mon, let's go home," Mrs. Allan said, wrapping her arms around her daughter and walking to the car.

Liz sat down in the passenger's seat, putting her bag by her feet. Her mother got in the driver's seat and started up the car. Liz wondered why her mother was acting so worried. Sure, yes, Liz did just survived death, but her mother seemed bummed out about something else.

And then Liz remembered: her father. "Is Dad home yet?" Liz asked.

The car stayed silent for a few seconds. Liz's mother just drove out of the school's parking lot and started down the actual road to their home. She sighed before replying.

"No."

They didn't talk after that.

Liz's mind was full of thoughts about what her father could be doing. Working - obviously, but where? He brought home enough money every week or so, but why was he keeping it all secrets?

After the car was pulled into the driveway, both girls got out and walked inside. Liz walked upstairs first, putting away her things she brought on the trip. The golden jacket was thrown in her closest - it reminded her of the accident. She walked back downstairs to her mother who was boiling water.

"What's that for?" Liz asked, pointing to the pot on the stove.

"Soup," was her mother's answer. "Want some?" she added.

"Sure."

While the soup was cooking, Liz sat on the couch, brushing her hair back with her hand. Her mother sat down next to her, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. The first channel that popped up was the news, of course. And it was of the accident that Liz took part in. A video of Spider-Man flinging himself up over a helicopter, then using small wings to go around it and smash into the window. That would explain the sounds that Liz heard.

Liz wanted to keep watching, but on the other hand she didn't want to be reminded of what happened. So her mother made the choice and changed the channel; a boring commercial popped up on some other channel.

"Baby, why don't you take a shower while the soup's cooking?" Mrs. Allan suggested to her daughter.

That thought never ran through Liz's mind. Probably because she was thinking too much about other things. "Yeah," she said, standing up.

Liz walked up the stairs into the bathroom to start running the water. She then walked inside her room and picked out pajamas, grabbing a towel to dry herself with as well. Liz let out a sigh as she heard the house phone ring, but her mother claimed she would get it. So Liz let her, but listened to the conversation by picking up another house phone that was hooked up on the table upstairs.

"-tomorrow I have to leave-"

"Tomorrow? Seriously?"

It was her mother and father speaking. Why would her mother not want Liz to talk to her dad?

"J-just let Liz know-" her dad was cut off for the second time.

"You're never there for her, Adrian."

Her father huffed. "I have a job to do, Doris, and I promise after these big business trips I will be back."

"Well, where will you be?"

"Staten Island Ferry."

Staten Island Ferry? What kind of business trip is on a boat?

"Okay, then," her mother started. "Be safe."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

The call ended. Liz placed the phone back on the hook and walked halfway down the stairs.

"Who was that?" she asked, trying to play the part where she didn't pick up the phone.

Her mother was stirring the soup in the kitchen. She turned to look at her daughter. "You know your father loves you, right, Liz?" Mrs. Allan asked, ignoring Liz's question.

Liz hesitated for a moment. "Yes," she responded. "Why? Is he coming home?"

"Not yet, baby," her mother responded. "The soup is almost done. Hurry up your shower!"

She lied? No, that wasn't a lie; her mother was procrastinating. Why couldn't she tell her daughter about where her father was going? Trying not to overwhelm her? Maybe she had a point, but Liz wanted to know. She just survived death; Liz wanted to make sure her father did the same.

"Alright," Liz responded and ran upstairs.

She took her shower, and got changed into pajamas. Getting cleaned felt good. Liz was getting rid of all the dust and particles from the accident. She felt...new. Maybe the Washington Monument wouldn't be so bad after all. Liz felt happy again - other than the fact that her mother and father were hiding something from her. And after soup, she stayed up reading in her room for a little bit.

Taking things slow until school starts on Monday again. When she goes back, she'll have to explain things. But for now, Liz is just taking things slow.


	11. Chapter 11

On Monday, teachers and students asked if Liz was okay, what happened, if Spider-Man did actually show up. Questions filled the halls, and to be honest, Liz understood why they were asking. It was on the school news; Betty gave a short report of it. And so it was natural for other students to question it. Liz would ask people about it, too, if she wasn't there in person because things like this didn't normally happen.

In person, seeing everything play out like a video in her head. When the elevator cord snapped, sending her down. Hearing the thwip! ring out; the sound of safety. But she only felt save when she was in her mom's arms. Even on the ground by the monument she was worried something, anything would happen. It was only until she was back at school, the four hour drive over. Her mother made her feel save; her father made her worry with all the business trips he was going on.

And what about Spider-Man? Him being out of New York for some reason made Liz shiver a bit. Of course, she was glad that he showed up. Who else would? The Avengers haven't been there for the people lately. Probably coiled up in some superhero, rich, business. So, for that, Liz appreciated Spider-Man more than she thought she would. And not because she was helped by him - okay, maybe a bit - but because he cared for the little people.

He cared for the citizens. 'Course, he would most likely do something if aliens from another world started to attack, but what about when the UFOs weren't around? When the only thing that was there was small gangs, running around at night robbing banks and mugging people? That was what mattered; the fact that Spider-Man cared for the citizens when there wasn't caterpillar-like things from another dimension flatting buildings every time it crashed into them.

And so, he cared for Liz and the other students. Not because they were being shot at by man-made robots that want to take over the world, but because they are part of the citizens. Maybe whatever set off the explosion was not all the way human technology, but still; Spider-Man was there for Liz. She was about to die and the web slinger just happened to show up.

Liz was about to fall countless times, slam into the metal elevator shaft, blow up, but she didn't. She saw it all, heard it all, felt it all.

Liz was there.

And thank the Lord, so was Spider-Man.

But on a better note, the Midtown Tech academic decathlon team won the championship. Flash had brought the trophy to safety just in case no one really believed they were winners. Even though people believed they were about to die until Spider-Man saved them. The team didn't really need Peter. They were fine.

And with all the stress of him quitting and rejoining, then bailing at the last second, Lizwas glad they won. She was also happy that Peter wasn't there because he would be put in danger, too. The elevator would have fallen faster if he was on it. And Liz couldn't, didn't want to see Peter - or, well, anyone for that matter - in danger. Especially when they were on a school trip, with Liz being one of the kids in charge.

But when she was back at school, and saw Peter with Ned in between classes, he did seem to be hurt a bit - bruises, maybe? Seriously, what was he doing after he ran away in Washington?

So to get her mind off of things, Liz went off to help set up some things for homecoming. But it was only until she got home from school when things really started to heat up.

The Staten Island Ferry? The one Liz's dad was on? Spider-Man was on that, too, and some things happened.

Tony Stark had to show up, it was so intense, in the Iron Man suit.

Liz had saw the video on YouTube after school when she was in her room. While watchin, her hand went to cover her mouth without even realizing it completely. And immediately after the short video that was shakily recorded on a handheld phone, she ran downstairs to question her mother. True, Mrs. Allan didn't know that Liz was listening into the conversation on the phone between her and Liz's father, but it was worth his safety.

"Mom!" she yelled, rolling across her bed to get out of her room quicker. "Mom!"

Her mother was in the back of the house, doing laundry when she replied. "What? Liz, what's wrong?" Mrs. Allan responded in the same tone as her daughter. She dropped the pants she was about to throw in the dryer and walked to the steps to find Liz, in case something was seriously wrong.

In this case, yes.

"Where's Dad at again?" Liz asked.

Her mother hesitated for a second, then replied. "Business trip, why?"

"Because the Staten Island Ferry split into two pieces."

"What? How do you even know-" Liz's mother cut herself off before she was able to finish.

Liz walked down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her mother trailed behind.

"H-have you talked to Dad today?" Liz asked, filling up the cup and taking a sip.

"No, not today. What did you say about the Ferry, though?" Mrs. Allan responded with her own question. She leaned on the island in the center of the kitchen with her palms, looking directly at her daughter.

This wasn't a joke. This was real; about as real as what Liz went through over the weekend. Her father could have...died. And both of the girls standing in that home new that neither one was lying because this wasn't a matter to be joked about. There was a thin line between life and death in the world they lived in.

"It split," Liz answered. "In half."

There was something shown in Mrs. Allan's eyes at that moment. Both eyes seemed to glisten for a second before she quickly washed away that facial expression. Liz looked down and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She opened YouTube and played the video with millions of views already for her mother to watch. With the same reaction as her daughter, a hand flew to Mrs. Allan's mouth and she gasped.

When the thought strikes you that you know someone who is on the thing - building, boat, whatever - that is about to crash, or split, or sink, your heart's beat starts to quicken. When you realize, that someone you know could die that day, you feel lightheaded and forget how to breath. It's a terrible feeling that Mr. Toomes was putting two of the closest people in his life through without even realizing it.

"Call your father," Liz's mother demanded, handing the phone back to her daughter.

Liz quickly obeyed. She wanted to hear her father's voice more than ever at that moment, just to make sure he was still there, breathing on the Earth. Even if she didn't see him everyday. And, even though he often left without letting other people know where he was going, she was so glad that he finally told them something.

Liz dialed her father's phone number and put it on speaker. Holding the phone in front of her, it stopped ringing after a short period of time.

"Hello?"

The sound of her father's voice. He was alive. Liz let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Relief filled her chest.

"Dad?" she replied.

"Liz."


	12. Chapter 12

She couldn't believe it at first. Liz was so happy her father answered the phone quickly. That he remembered his daughter's voice even after all the work he's gone away to. It was him and he was still alive. A feeling went through Liz; the same feeling when she stopped falling while in the Washington Monument elevator shaft. The feeling of letting the worry slowly drip away. Her father was safe.

And somewhere deep inside of her wanted to be mad at her dad. Mad at him for...for doing something he wasn't supposed to. But how was that possible? How could Liz be angry; also, she didn't even know what he wasn't suppose to do. Yet, he could have died and Liz was supposed to be mad at him? Yeah, he did keep secrets and all, but a lot of people did that. He was still alive, though, and that's what mattered.

Although her mother thought otherwise.

She took the phone out of her daughter's hands and brought it to her ear after turning off the speaker so that only the adults could talk. There were tears in her eyes and Mrs. Allan was sniffling her nose, as well. Liz bet that her mother was taking this harder than she was. Especially since her daughter could have died over the weekend.

What was wrong with this family? Why did it seem that death was waiting for them around every corner? And why was Spider-Man at both of the events?

"Adrian," Mrs. Allan cried out. "W-what happened?"

Liz watched the glass that she took a sip of sweat. Water dripping from the side and onto the island it was so cold. She looked up to her mother on the phone - with her father - and listened in to her mother's side of the conversation, not really knowing what else to do or say except listen in.

"Yes, she is," her mother responded into the phone. "Of course she does, but what happened?" Mrs. Allan's eyes fluttered quickly to her daughter, then to the window in the kitchen. "Again? Spider-boy is everyone now, hmm?" She paused. "I saw the video, Adrian, don't lie to me. The boat split in half."

Liz closed her eyes and took another small sip of the water. It's cold drops running down the edge, wetting her hand, as she picked it up. The ice cold water felt good in her mouth. She tried to make sense of the conversation her parents were having with only knowing half of it. Clearly, the first topic was about her, but out of everything that was going on, why would her parents talk about her?

Her second thought was: Spider-Man, is his name.

Liz didn't understand why it was so hard to remember that. Now days, he was always in the news. He showed up to save Liz's life, and her father's. And he proved to do the unthinkable again, trying to pull together a boat. True, Iron Man did end up coming to help after his webs snapped, but with all that pressure and lives on the line, Liz didn't think she could do that.

"Hey, Liz?"

She opened her eyes and looked to her mother, who had brought the phone off her ear, her other hand on the bottom blocking out noise so the other line couldn't hear it.

"Is everything...fine?" Liz asked.

"Peachy," Mrs. Allan replied. "Mind giving us a few minutes?"

Liz put the glass on the island again and took a step back, her hands up slightly. "Not at all," she lied.

Truth be told, Liz really wanted to listen in on the conversation again. She wanted to know what was up with her father. Why was he acting so strange lately. And Liz was confused on why her mother didn't want Liz around when she talked about it. Was there something Liz should know, or was there something that Mrs. Allan was trying to figure out, too?

It was like both girls were always treading in water.

"Thanks, baby," Mrs. Allan said, breaking her daughter out of her thoughts.

Liz walked about halfway up the stairs, leaning on the balcony as she heard one last sentence from her mother's mouth: "You have to stop doing this, Adrian."

"Stop doing what?" Liz said to herself, cocking her head to her head to the side.

Stop working? Then there'd be no money, and things wouldn't work anymore. Stop...leaving for his job? Keeping secrets? Was there something at work that Liz should know about?

She walked in her room and pulled out her laptop, beginning to type in in the web address box. But then she stopped, blinking a few times as if the PC was wrong.

"Parker?" she murmured, scrolling down.

In the My Feed section, where news was displayed, was the face of a person she saw not too long ago. The headline read, Highschooler Missing from Queens, New York.

Liz clicked on the story and scrolled down. She skimmed about who Peter Parker was, and what his aunt May had told the five police stations. Five was understandable, though, for May. Peter was the last person in her life that she cared about who was close to her. Liz drained those thoughts out of her head because it had nothing to do with her and continued to read on.

Apparently, Peter hasn't been seen since the morning. He hasn't answered any of his calls, either. Even thought Liz and Peter were just classmates, she was worried about him. He - just like Liz's dad - has been acting strange lately. There was this weird feeling in Liz's bones as she read about the missing classmate. Not just the missing classmate; it was someone who she knew personally.

Liz never thought that the world would come to this. People running and screaming, missing children, and explosions. The world takes things for granted. Somewhere around the world, people were praying for the things Liz took for granted. And now, they were being taken away. That blanket of safety, it was missing. Liz felt exposed; anything could happen at anytime.

People could die at anytime.

For a second, Liz had the aching feeling to call Peter Parker, although she didn't have her phone; Mrs. Allan did. And even though she felt horrible for moving on, Liz typed in the URL and hit enter. There really wasn't anything else she could do. There was already five local police stations called, and Liz was just supposed to run around the streets, calling out Peter's name?

Yeah, not going to happen. She'd wait.

There were a lot more views on the video that scared her and her mother to death and thousands of comments already. After sitting on her bed and fixing her hair quickly, Liz started to read some of the comments as the video played.

This was some damn good webslinging, was posted by Nathan John.

Brett81d said, scary af!

And a hashtag was started: #PrayForTheStatenIslandFerry.

She was about to toss the computer off to the side when there was a noise. Liz stopped, pausing the video and listening for a few seconds. It didn't happen again. The noise sounded like...wings? Almost like a whoosh! click. sound, starting off loud, then ending softer. She didn't remember hearing it before when she first watched the video, or when she showed her mother.

Yet again, the volume wasn't up like it was now.

Liz replayed the video back a few seconds and listened, hearing the sound again. whoosh! click.

She put the video in full screen and watched.

There was the casual screams in the background. Screams out of fear because every single person on that boat had the possibility of dying - including Liz's dad. From what she heard, of course. The camera shook. Both, the recorder's hand, and the whole boat swaying as if they were stuck in the wind.

"Woah, look at that thing!" someone yelled and the person with the phone immediately moved the camera so whatever the thing was would get in the frames.

The blue sky full of white, fluffy clouds were seen in the background. The water that the ferry was floating on was a clear color, seeming to be clean. Although that would change after the boat split and Iron Man with his small boosters have to put it back together - not to mention any leftover webs. Sides of the boat were able to get in the video as well; a bright orange that made the sun high in the sky dazzle off.

But the thing that seemed to strike the boat's passenger's fancy was in the sky.

It looked almost like a bird, with large, robotic-looking wings straightened out so whoever was working them wouldn't fall in the water. It resembled...a vulture, almost. Liz paused the video as she examined the suit, even if it was blurring from the bad vertical recording. It was a full-body wingsuit, including a helmet. When she played the video again, the mystery person turned their head. She saw the eyes - bright, burning green.

But she felt something else other than fear. Like she knew more but it was dug deep in her memories.

Within a blink of an eye, the winged person in the suit was gone - flew upwards to the sky - and Liz paused the video once more.

This made things worse. There was this person on the boat in a bird suit? Was he - or she - the one that broke the ferry in half?

Liz put her computer off to the side and threw her head onto her pillow. There were so many things that didn't really make sense. And now she was going to have to go to school and deal with work, as well. Man, the stress. Liz stood up and paced around her room for a second, running her hands through her hair. She didn't know what to do exactly. Then she took in a sharp breath and looked for her phone to text Betty.

...Her phone that her mother was still talking to her father on.

She plopped back on her bed until she brought out her laptop again out of boredom. Then Liz started to scroll through some social media. There were a lot more pictures and posts of Spider-Man than usual. And, there were a lot more questions about him, too. Liz wondered the same things. She looked up vulture man but got no results.

So she sat like that, not really knowing what she was waiting for - not knowing she got distracted and started to forget about the reality. Then there was a knock at her door. Liz jumped a bit, then tossed the laptop off to the side after closing the web page.

"Hmm?" she mumbled.

"Just me," her mother said, slowly opening the door and walking in. She put her hand out, fingers wrapped around her daughter's phone. "Here."

Liz walked forward, taking her phone out of her mom's hand. She dropped it a few times, trying to think of the right words to say. "Did Dad say anything...that I should know?" she asked.

"He's okay."

Well, that Liz already knew. Clearly he was okay because he actually picked up the phone for once and recognized Liz's own voice.

Mrs. Allan took a step backwards and grabbed the door handle when her daughter stopped her.

"Is Dad hiding anything?" Liz asked.

Her mother took in a small breath, then closed her eyes in a slow blink. "If there is anything that he's hiding, you'll be the first to know."

And then she walked out without any room for a reply.


	13. Chapter 13

Liz was later called downstairs for dinner. In the meantime, though, she just sat in her room. Simply thinking in silence. Pondering about what had happened in the past few days. More importantly, what happened in the pasted hour. How crazy it all sounded in her head, but that was reality now. It actually happened. She saw it, and felt it, and remembered it with her own senses.

And as she ate with her mother, it was almost awkward. Something was clearly up, although she couldn't figure out what. She didn't even know if her mother knew. So she left the topic she wanted to talk about so badly on hold, and talked about school. How she had been keeping up with her studies, possible colleges, etc. After cleaning up dinner, she went upstairs to her room to think more.

To process this all.

Again.

To understand how it could have all happened. She wondered if it could have been...planed. But then Liz thought that sounded ridiculous. Who'd want to do all of this? It was crazy, insane. People could die, for goodness sake. Who would want blood on their hands like that? It wasn't safe.

But then...that vulture person. He - or she, maybe? - looked like they had a plan; like they knew what was going on. Perhaps they caused the boat to split with something they owned?

It was getting too confusing, to jumbled. It was a heated mess of ideas in Liz's head.

There were scenarios that started in her head, until Liz came across something that didn't make sense. For example, why someone would want to do all of this? So, that crossed out the plan option. It was ridiculous, like she thought before.

Curled up like a ball, she shut off her light and went to sleep. Of course, it took a while to actually sleep because her brain was so full of information - even if it didn't tie up - and thoughts. It got to the point where she just wanted to fall asleep and wake up from this terrible nightmare. Forget about everything that had happened.

Forget about that huge accident in Washington where she almost died and the Staten Island splitting in half with the vulture man. She wanted to let go of the idea of Spider-Man because he was clouding up her thoughts, even though he was a hero. Her hero. She didn't want to know where her dad was anymore; it made matters worse. Why couldn't he just have a normal job like the other people in New York?

Of course! That's why.

Because nothing was normal anymore. People in iron armor shouldn't fly around town, shooting blasts out of their hands. True, it sounded pretty cool for a dream, but once you are dropped into that reality, things turn dark. It's like death is hanging over you at all times. You don't know when the next alien force is going to attack and huge green guys are going to jump from building to building.

While she was laying in bed, Liz heard a sound as if someone was walking inside the house. Her first thought was that it was just her mother walking around, maybe getting a drink? But the footsteps were too heavy to be Liz's mother. Could it actually be...her dad? Liz tried to imagine him home. It didn't seem right, but he could sneak home at night. For sleep? Food? She didn't have the want to get out of bed, though.

The next day during school, Liz buried those thoughts about that vulture-guy, Spider-Man, and more importantly, her father by helping with some last minute homecoming things. The school day had been long and slow for Liz. Her thoughts always drifting off. But she managed to get some work done and felt better. At least that was a plus.

Time slowly passed when Liz was walking through the halls, making sure everything looked nice for when it was homecoming. Which...was really soon. Tonight actually. Wow, how time had flew. She couldn't believe that with all the work that had paid off, it was finally happening.

She walked around a corner as a bell rang out. Also, at the same time, Peter Parker walked out of the boy's bathroom holding a hall pass.

First, Liz was surprised that he actually managed to show up to something for once. But, yet again, it was high school and he already was in the hole deep enough when he bailed on the academic decathlon team.

Peter was wearing a blue sweatshirt with the school logo on it. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," Liz repeated.

He walked forward, twisting the pass between his hands. "I, ah, I thought you had calculous this period?"

Liz took steps forward as well, swinging her arms out like she was motioning to the signs hanging around the school that she made. "Yeah, just doing some homecoming stuff," she replied.

They were now standing together in front of a glass case full of trophies.

"Hey, look. I, ah," Peter started. He paused, played with the hall pass some more in his hands, then looked up at Liz and started again. "I just wanted to apologize for the whole decathlon thing. I really-"

"It's fine," Liz cut him off, looking at the glass in front of her. "Last week, the decathlon was the most important thing, but I almost died."

She looked to her left at Peter and he started to stutter, slurring the start of words together until he finally found words to speak.

Peter gave a short chuckle, then looked down at his feet. "I just mean that," he started, "it was not cool especially..." He trailed off again, sharing a quick glace with Liz before he started to speak again. "B-because I like you." He spoke softly, like he was talking to a fragile child. Carefully picking his words as if one wrong move could set the kid off and it'd all be over.

Liz knew that already. With the cute, shy glares that he always snuck in, to the way he spoke around her. It was as clear as day. And it was adorable.

"I know."

He turned his head to look at Liz after she replied faster than she'd ever heard him speak. "Y-you do?" he asked.

"You're terrible at keeping secrets," Liz softly answered, swaying her head slightly to the side. She almost smirked while looking back at Peter.

He smiled, letting out a small laugh. "Yeah, you'd be surprised."

Liz put on a confused expression, unsure of what he completely meant by that. Other secrets, hmm?

Apparently, Peter realized this and looked around, uncomfortably. "I, ah, I gotta get to class," he started, backing away slowly putting space between the two. "But, um, I'd say we should hang out but I'm gonna be in detention for-" he swallowed and paused for a short second "-ever."

Liz nodded. "Uh-huh," she murmured.

Peter twisted the hall pass in his hands once more. He looked up and pointed an weak finger to the sign Liz had made before quickly putting it back on the pass. "But, um, I guess you already have a date to homecoming?"

"Actually, I was so busy planning it I never really got around to that part, so..." Liz trailed off, shaking her head as she brought her hands together in front of her waist.

Peter pointed to his chest, a beaming smile across his face. "You wanna...go with me?"

"Yeah, sure," Liz replied, now smiling herself.

"Really?" Peter quickly asked. "I mean, great. Cool."

"Cool," Liz repeated, nodding her head several times in approval.

Peter hesitantly took a step forward, pointing behind Liz. "I'm actually going that way," he said, now looking at his feet. When he was about to pass Liz, he looked up and smiled. It was a shy smile, a Did that really just happen? kind of smile.

But Liz returned it, not knowing how good it felt. How good she finally felt. How badly she wanted this deep inside.

Liz turned and watched Peter walked away. And as he was about to turn a corner, she ran into the closest room. It was empty, of course, but she didn't know why she ran into it. Maybe it was because she didn't want anyone to really...find out? Find out that her and Peter were going to homecoming together.

I mean, people looked to him as a nerd, a loser. And after he quit on so many things, who'd want to hang out with him, right?

It felt strange to Liz about how excited and joyful she was to be hanging out with Peter. though. This time, she didn't need an excuse; they weren't just giving a shy wave as they passed in the hallway because they knew each other, nor where they just working together in the academic decathlon team. It was almost like a date. It was a date, actually.

She was Peter Parker's date. To homecoming.

And she couldn't wait.

**Author's Note:**

> comments n kudos r always appreciated


End file.
